Man accused of gangland car park execution freed by judge

Carroll, 29, who was described as a key player with the Daniel crime clan, had survived two previous attempts on his life before masked men shot him dead in January 2010.

The dead man had made many enemies in his gangland dealings, including a staggering 99 suspects who police had compiled in their search for the killer.

There have been countless rumours surrounding Carroll's killing and Mr Monaghan's acquittal, on the orders of trial judge Lord Brailsford yesterday, fuelled further speculation.

Claims emerged the killing had been carried out by the Daniels's bitter rivals, the Lyons family, while others believe Carroll may have been the victim of an "inside job" by an associate after he became too arrogant.

Carroll's erratic and violent nature meant many people had reason to want him dead.

He is believed to have led a series of kidnappings where rivals were seized at gunpoint by a mob posing as armed police.

The victims suffered horrific physical and mental torture to force them to hand over cash, drugs and guns. Many were found wandering the streets half-naked after their ordeal.

Former drug dealer Steven Glen, 26, met Carroll in the car park of the Asda supermarket in Robroyston, Glasgow, shortly before he was shot dead in the back of an Audi 3 on January 13, 2010.

He told the court at Mr Monaghan's trial that he asked someone to keep a lookout in case he became a victim.

He said: "I just wanted someone to know what had happened to me if he [had taken] me away.

"He was a maniac. There was no-one I could have gone to who could help me, who could fight with Gerbil. Nobody in the whole of Glasgow would f*** with him."

Glen, who admitted making £250,000-a-year from cocaine dealing, added that Carroll had offered him £10,000 a month to work for him.

Former policeman George Gallacher, 54, said: "He was a nutcase, basically. I would imagine his fellow drug dealers would not have been happy to deal with him. He was not a nice person."

The trial also heard Carroll had put a £100,000 hit out on a former associate, who cannot be named, just months before the shooting.

Detectives investigating the case had a list of 99 suspects, which included the Lyons and Daniels families, the McGovern crime clan, Albanians from London, Ian "Blink" McDonald, Lewis Rodden and a person known only as Rainbow.

Detective Sergeant David Moran spoke about the list and agreed the gangster was "not short of an enemy or two".

Sgt Moran also confirmed there was an arrest warrant out for another suspect, William Paterson, who flew to Spain days after the murder, and is one of eight men blamed for the shooting by Monaghan.

A European warrant has been issued for the 31-year-old and the officer said the investigation now "solely centres" on tracing him.

At the time of the murder, it was reported that crime boss Jamie Daniel had put a price of £1 million on the head of those responsible, believing it was his rivals, the Lyons.

The two families have been locked in a bitter feud since 2001 when a drug deal went wrong and since then there have been countless tit-for-tat attacks between the two sides.

Carroll was reportedly made a key target by Lyons's head, Eddie Sr, after he vandalised the grave of a family child, who died of leukaemia in 2006.

He was shot later that year and just weeks afterward Michael Lyons died in a shooting at Applerow Motors garage in Lambhill, Glasgow.

The trial heard that both Mr Monaghan and Mr Paterson visited Paul Lyons in jail two days after Carroll's murder.

However, it has also been claimed Carroll may have been set up by someone within the Daniels gang after fighting to become a major player.

He grew up with the Daniel family in the Possil area of Glasgow and quickly went from being a bit-part criminal to a major player in the drug scene.

At the time of his death, it was reported Carroll was one of Scotland's top 15 police targets.