Six jailed for serious and organised crime in Edinburgh and Midlothian

Six men convicted of serious and organised crime incidents in Edinburgh and Midlothian have been jailed.

Michael Heeps, Lee Ridgway, John Murray, Dale Bauld, Damien Mullen and Ryan McGovern, were previously convicted of numerous offences including attempted murder, wilful fire-raising and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

At the High Court in Glasgow, today – Friday, 15 August, 2025, Heeps was jailed for 23 years, Ridgeway for 22 years, Murray (pictured left) for 17 years, Bauld (pictured centre) for 17 years, Mullen for 14 Years and McGovern (pictured right) for eight years.

Detective Superintendent Paul Grainger said: “The use of violence is always completely unacceptable.

“Although these were all targeted attacks, those involved showed absolutely no regard for the communities affected.

“These incidents could have had much more serious consequences and this behaviour will not be tolerated.

“These sentences show Police Scotland’s commitment to the Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce’s national strategy.

“I want to make it clear to those intent on being involved in serious and organised crime that we will not give up and you will be brought to justice.

“I would again like to thank officers who worked on this investigation, as well as our partners in forensic services and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal services, for their work. I would also like to thank the public for their support throughout the investigation.”

Four jailed for human trafficking

Four people were jailed for trafficking offences at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday.

Jagpal Singh (52) was sentenced to 10 years, Donglin Zhang (48) was sentenced to 8 years, Vlassis Ntaoulias (33) was sentenced to 7 years and Boonsong Wannas (62) was sentenced to six years and four months.

All four were previously convicted of human trafficking and brothel keeping offences.

Detective Superintendent Donna Duffy, in charge of Glasgow’s Human Trafficking Unit said: “I welcome the sentencing today. Human trafficking is a despicable crime that has an unmeasurable long term impact on its victims.

“We are committed to working alongside partners to tackle human trafficking and we will work to identify those responsible and protect their victims.

“I would like to thank all our partners including Home Office Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial Investigations.

“I would continue to encourage members of the community to contact us if they have any concerns as they are vital to helping us identify those involved.”