Four of Scotland’s most high profile gangland figures have been arrested in Dubai.

BBC Scotland News understands that Steven Lyons, Ross McGill, Stephen Jamieson and Steven Larwood were taken into custody on Tuesday.

Police Scotland believe all four are linked to criminality ranging from drug importation to a feud between rival criminal gangs in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The dispute has resulted in a series of assaults, shootings and firebombings since March.

It is understood detectives have been sharing intelligence with police in the United Arab Emirates, where the men are all based.

It is unclear if officers in Scotland were made aware of the Dubai raids in advance.

And it remains to be seen whether the authorities will press charges or whether moves will be made to extradite the men – who may be deemed a flight risk – back to Scotland.

Detectives working on Operation Portaledge, which was set up in response to the gang violence, have so far made 57 arrests.

Sources have told BBC Scotland News the significance of the Dubai arrests cannot be underestimated.

One said: “All four are operating at the highest level of organised crime, both at a UK and an international level.”

Steven Lyons is the head of the Lyons crime group, which has been involved in a bloody feud with the rival Daniel clan for more than 20 years.

In 2006 he survived a shooting at a garage in Lambhill, in the north of Glasgow, which claimed the life of his cousin, Michael Lyons.

He later moved to Spain before settling in Dubai.

In May Stephen Lyons’ brother, Eddie Lyons Jnr, and Ross Monaghan were shot dead in a beachfront bar in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol.

Both men had spent the evening watching the Champions League final before they were targeted by a lone gunman.

Michael Riley, 44, from Liverpool, has been accused by Spanish police of the murders with a full extradition hearing scheduled for later this year.

In the days after the double shooting a Spanish National Police detective said the suspect was a member of the rival Glasgow-based Daniel gang.

But Police Scotland have maintained there is nothing to suggest the murders in Spain are linked to the ongoing gang war or that it was planned in Scotland.

McGill first became known to police for his activities while a senior member of Rangers ultras group, the Union Bears.

But since March he has emerged as a key figure in the gangland feud which has been responsible for a wave of violence in the east and west of the country.

BBC Scotland News understands it was triggered by a fall out between McGill and Edinburgh drug dealer Mark Richardson, who is currently in prison.

Larwood is a known associate of Lyons and previously lived in Spain before relocating to Dubai.

Jamieson, who has lived in the desert city for a number of years, has links to Jamie “Iceman” Stevenson, who was last year jailed for orchestrating a plot to smuggle cocaine worth £100m from South America in boxes of bananas.

Police Scotland said it was unable to confirm the arrests.

It is understood the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has not been approached for consular assistance.

Dubai Police referred BBC Scotland News to the UK Embassy in Dubai but it has yet to comment.