RAGING hood Mark Richardson is sending heavies to Dubai to fight back against the fugitive behind attacks on his crime empire, sources said.
The Rangers ultra thought to be behind the recent explosion of violence is now in hiding in the millionaire’s playground over fears he is now a target.
The claims emerged as a photo of the wanted former Union Bear showed him posing in a white Rolls-Royce while enjoying the high life in his UAE bolthole.
The snap gives an insight into the vast sums of dirty money he is said to be raking in from his alleged criminal activities.
The 31-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, uses the image on a social media profile where he appears to show off the rewards of his illicit trade.
And insiders say he’s shifting vast amounts of cocaine after moving into the void left by Scots brothers James and Barry Gillespie — who are missing feared murdered in Brazil.
A source said: “The Dubai guy has basically taken over all of the Gillespies’ set-up. All their guys now graft for him.
“He’s got connections all over the world and has the backing of all the big players.
“The guy is supplying a lot of people and it’s estimated that he’s shipping a tonne a month.
“But the word is that he’s now getting edgy about his situation.
“He has been told Richardson is planning a major retaliation in Dubai and Edinburgh.
“So he has lost the element of surprise. He is also anxious about being nicked by cops in Dubai and sent back to Scotland.”
It was claimed that a feared assassin has got involved in the gangland turf war that has seen properties in the Edinburgh area being firebombed and shot at — sparking a huge police probe.
Sources say Barry ‘Baghdad’ Harvey, 37, is part of the Dubai-based druglord’s alliance.
The Scot has a fearsome reputation after shooting two hoods in the head over drug debts.
He is suspected of murdering at least one more.
Harvey is serving a 29-year jail sentence in the capital’s Saughton nick, where it’s claimed he has linked up with figures who have a long-standing beef with Richardson.
An insider said: “The guy out in Dubai is supplying cocaine to a lot of people in crime circles — and one of his most important guys is Barry Harvey.
“He has a reputation as a ruthless killer and is a driving force in this whole escalation of violence after teaming up with a notorious crime family in the city.
“With Harvey involved, you can guarantee that things will get worse before they get better.”
The claims emerged as senior police officers insisted they are closing in on mobsters who have torched properties and cars belonging to known associates of Richardson. Some of his cronies are said to have ignited the feud by using fake cash in a £500,000 cocaine deal that enraged the ambitious Dubi-based dealer.
It’s understood the fugitive Scot — who fled to Spain before moving on to the UAE — was furious at being ripped off by the Edinburgh gang chief’s underlings.
And he has now turned his fury on anyone linked to him.
We told how Richardson was transferred earlier this month from HMP Glenochil, near Alloa, to Low Moss jail in Bishopbriggs, on the outskirts of Glasgow.
But he is now being held in isolation amid claims of a murder plot, underworld sources claim.
Meanwhile, Police Scotland have been working with the National Crime Agency — Britain’s answer to the FBI — in a bid to snare the maniacs involved in the violence.
Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs said: “We’re working exceptionally hard and will follow folks wherever they are. And we will bring them to justice.” We told how gun nut Harvey was caged with two accomplices in March last year over the execution and maiming of gangland rivals.
A judge slammed the former footie starlet plus Thomas Guthrie, 29, and Darren Owen, 25, for their “extremely brutal offences”.
The monsters were convicted after a 12-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow for their parts in the murders of Gary More, 32, at his Airdrie house, and Rafal Lyko, 36, in Blantyre, Lanarkshire, plus a bid to kill Scott Bennett, 43, in Rutherglen, near Glasgow.