Girl, 17, and two men charged with firearms offences

Three people including a 17-year-old girl will appear in court on Saturday in connection with firearms offences linked to a “gang-related incidents”.

A 17-year-old girl and two men aged 41 and 61 years old, were arrested and charged with drugs and firearms offences after police raided a home in Crewe Road Gardens, Edinburgh, on Thursday.

Weapons were seized including a firearm, along with mobile phones, according to Police Scotland.

The three co-accused were due to appear in Edinburgh Sheriff Court in a rare Saturday court appearance, due to the Easter weekend.

Custody cases from across the east of Scotland will be sitting in Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Saturday because of bank holidays.

I want to reassure the community that extensive enquiries are ongoing into this as part of our investigation into recent incidents in the east and west of the country

Since March, assaults, shootings and fire-raisings in both the Edinburgh and Glasgow regions have been treated as potentially linked to a number of alleged gang-related incidents, with videos of some fires posted online.

In one week alone, six addresses were targeted in Glasgow and surrounding neighbourhoods, in April.

Police previously urged anonymous tip-offs, and condemned “publicising and glamorising these despicable and dangerous acts” online, branding them “abhorrent”.

Detective chief superintendent David Ferry, Specialist Crime Division, said: “I want to reassure the community that extensive enquiries are ongoing into this as part of our investigation into recent incidents in the east and west of the country.

“There will be a continued police presence in the area.

“If you have any information that can assist our investigation, please get in touch.”