| British Transport Police said today they expected to make further arrests as they continued the operation designed to trace participants in a large-scale disturbance after last month’s Scottish Cup Final.
Teams of officers have spent the past two mornings carrying out raids in the north-east following an incident at Stonehaven Railway Station on May 30, which left one man nursing serious head injuries and others suffering more minor ailments.
Operation Glazer saw a total of four men aged between 26 and 38 detained in dawn raids in Dundee yesterday while a further three men — aged 21, 23 and 26 — were picked up in Aberdeen today.
The men were charged with various offences and were later freed with an undertaking to appear at Stonehaven Sheriff Court in due course.
Inspector Bob Cameron, who led the operation, said football-related disturbances were becoming more common on the rail network.
He said the problem — which in Dundee is related to football casuals who attach themselves to both senior sides — had all but died out in the late 1990s but there was increasing evidence it was rearing its ugly head once again.
Mr Cameron said mobile phones meant it was simple for rival gangs of football casuals to arrange to meet up at a destination and fight.
He said BTP and Scotland’s eight regional police forces were determined the problem would not escalate any further and would be doing everything possible to identify and detain those involved in football-related disturbances.
Mr Cameron said, “This operation today was to effect the arrest of these individuals and send out a clear message to the public that violence of this nature will not be tolerated.
“This is an ongoing operation — it doesn’t finish today or tomorrow. As more people are identified, they can expect a chap on their door.”
Turning to the incident that sparked the raids, Inspector Cameron said, “We received a report of a large scale disturbance at Stonehaven railway station.
“We reviewed CCTV evidence which quite clearly showed a group of individuals — about 30 in number — had been fighting for some considerable time.
“Some of the individuals had links to the football casual element.
“The first indication we had was that it was pre-planned as the Scottish Cup Final was taking place in Glasgow and all the police resources had been deployed there.”
The force was grateful for the assistance provided by Tayside Police and Grampian Police during the raids, he added.
British Transport Police has urged anyone with information about the Stonehaven incident to come forward.
They can be contacted direct on 0800 405040 or through Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. |
