The Fugitive Unit hunting Scotland’s Most Wanted

“We won’t rest until these men face justice.”

The elite officers hunting Scotland’s two most wanted men believe the fugitives are receiving regular support from home to avoid capture.

Murder suspects William Paterson and Derek Ferguson are thought to be on the run in mainland Europe.

Police intelligence indicates the whereabouts of both men is known but a vow of silence is protecting them from arrest.

Paterson, 34, is wanted over the execution of gangland enforcer Kevin ‘Gerbil’ Carroll in a Glasgow supermarket car park in January 2010.

Ferguson, 49, is the main suspect in the murder of barman Thomas Cameron three years earlier. Police also want to speak to him about the death of William Bates, whose body was found stuffed in an oil drum and dumped in the River Clyde.

Detective Inspector David Wilson, of Police Scotland’s new Fugitive Unit, said: “We strongly suspect there are people out there in Scotland who know exactly where Paterson is and are doing their utmost to assist him in evading capture.

“The problem for them is they will be bringing problems to their own doors. There will be consequences for people assisting Paterson. I don’t think they have thought this through.

“There will be repercussions for them and their families. The answers to where these people are sit within in Scotland.

“Those who do know have to look into themselves. Three people are dead. These are serious crimes. The Crown and the Fugitive Unit won’t stop pursuing them. We’re not going to go away.

“Paterson is only 34. He will have to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder because these warrants will never go away.

“Wherever he is in the world there is a whole team of folk looking for him.”

Police Scotland’s new Fugitive Unit officially launched with the advent of the new force on April 1. It was specifically set up to track down the likes of Ferguson and Paterson.

DI Wilson added: “These men are suspected of carrying out murder with firearms.

“Both of the incidents, in particular the murder of Kevin Carroll, happened in a public place where there was considerable risk to innocent passers-by.

“Thomas Cameron’s family have not had closure on this, they’ve not seen a trial.

“They are now our top priorities. A review of everything that has gone before has been undertaken.”

In the past seven months the Fugitive Unit has executed 70 outstanding warrants, 63 of those suspects who have come to Scotland to hide. Around another dozen have been located abroad. However, arrests can’t be made until all the legal paperwork has been completed and signed off.

Most fugitives become involved in crime in the country where they end up. However, last week gangster Allan Smith was brought to justice after five years on the run. He admitted his role in a drug dealing gang. Officers tracked him down to the Dutch island of Zealand, where he was running a gym and teaching martial arts.

Smith fled on the eve of his trial alongside nine of the gang, masterminded by ex-police officer Michael Norden, 41. They were all eventually caged for 50 years.

DI Wilson said: “Smith’s group were very active, operated at a high level and effective at what they did. The quantities and the distribution they used were making an impact on Scottish communities there’s no doubt about it.

“Smith was on bail at the time and, before the trial, he left Scotland. From everything we can tell he was living a quiet, non-criminal life.

“Smith was completely off the radar, living with a local artist in Zealand, and not connected to any existing criminal network.

“He could have easily have stayed there for the rest of his life because he had stepped away from the gang and their associates.

“Smith may have reached the point where he was no longer looking over his shoulder there was no indication his partner had any idea of his criminal past.

“But he slipped up. He came back on to the radar and we were able to track him down. He still doesn’t know how he was found.”

The Fugitive Unit are also tracking a rapist, who attacked his victim as she was returning from a Christmas night out, whom they believe is back in the UK.

Rezgar Zengana was found guilty of raping a clubber after pretending to be a taxi driver. However, the Iraq-born asylum seeker was released on bail before sentencing at the High Court in Glasgow and fled the UK.

DI Wilson said: “It was thought he had gone to the Netherlands. However, we now believe he has returned to the UK in particular, the London area.

“He may be using a different name and the indications are he’s taken other measure to cover his tracks. Zengana is one of our main priorities.”

The 26-year-old victim told the High Court in Glasgow she got into his car after calling a cab to the city’s Radisson Hotel. The Edinburgh woman asked if he was her taxi and he replied “yes”.

But, instead of taking her to the hotel, he drove to his flat in the Cessnock area of the city where she was sexually assaulted.

Dutch police were alerted to intelligence he was in the Netherlands, where he was known to use the name Ali Kerim. However, he wasn’t able to be traced.

The success of the Fugitive Unit relies heavily on establishing goodwill with other police forces around the world.

DI Wilson explained: “There is an obligation for other countries to help. But, if you take Spain and the Netherlands for example, there are established criminal networks in place to help fugitives and, as a result, they’re a common destination.

“They’re being hit by fugitives from Russia and Georgia, as well Mexico and Columbia.

“Scottish criminals are therefore just part of the day-to-day work of local police. They might not be top of the list, so we have to do what we can to get them top of the list, and that needs goodwill and relationships to be established.

“Drugs and money laundering are the staples of most criminal gangs. The supply networks are organised elsewhere to bring drugs into Scotland.

“Face-to-face meetings will take place to ensure the criminals get what they want at the price they want. Amsterdam is a good example of where this would happen. Price, quantity and the smuggling logistics would all be agreed.

“Crime groups will support someone who has worked for them with money and somewhere to stay. But that can only go on for so long. The money or the goodwill runs out and the man on the run has to start earning his keep.

“It is unlikely they will be able to live a quiet life, because they can’t afford to.”