Mob boss Stewart 'Specky' Boyd, one of the most feared men in Glasgow, died in a mysterious fireball car crash on a Spanish motorway in 2003. He had moved to the Costa del Sol just months before his death after amassing a multi-million-pound fortune selling heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy in bulk.
Boyd, who grew up in the tough Ferguslie Park area of Paisley, joined criminal ranks in the late 1980s selling temazepam gel capsules, known on the streets as 'jellies.' He was rumoured to have ordered multiple murders and left Scotland after serving 18 months in jail for intimidating witnesses in a court trial.
Rise to Power with Henchmen Piggy and Goofy
In the early 1990s, Boyd moved into private security alongside his two henchmen George 'Goofy' Docherty and Robert 'Piggy' Pickett. By then, Specky controlled the area with an iron grip, with his firm FCB Security extorting money from local businesses while his dealers locked down the drug market.
In 1996, a 26-year-old small-time dealer, Mark Rennie, ran up a debt with Specky's mob, prompting Boyd to send Piggy and Goofy to his doorstep. Piggy pulled a gun on Rennie, but when it jammed, Goofy attacked him with a machete, leaving him with severe injuries.
Violence and Legal Troubles
Another FCB crew member, Stuart Gillespie, shot Rennie dead months later and received a 25-year life sentence. Piggy was given 16 years for attempted murder, and Goofy received a seven-year sentence. Specky was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, but a jury unanimously found him not guilty.
His reputation in the underworld grew, and his network expanded beyond Paisley. Boyd directed his crime empire from the Royal Oak pub in Nitshill, where he received visits from other big-time gangsters across the city. He helped fellow security boss Lewis 'Scooby' Rodden intimidate a witness in a court case, but CCTV captured Specky approaching the man, leading to an 18-month jail sentence in July 2001.
Move to Spain and Fatal Crash
Upon his release, Boyd moved to Mijas, near the Fuengirola coast, as his enemies moved in and his two main henchmen languished in jail. Linked to nine murders by that point, he focused on running his rapidly expanding drug empire from Spain.
He was reported to have failed to pay the Russian mafia for a £2.5 million cocaine shipment, and they were blamed in some quarters when his Audi TT ploughed into an oncoming BMW after careering through a central highway barrier on a straight road in clear conditions. Specky, his daughter, and his girlfriend's three-year-old child all died, but Spanish cops found no evidence of foul play.
Aftermath and Fate of Henchmen
After his death at 40, it became clear he had been at the centre of a massive drugs surveillance operation by the National Crime Intelligence Service.
Following his release from jail, George 'Goofy' Docherty was murdered at 46 in August 2006 when he was knocked down by a car and repeatedly stabbed in Tollcross. Piggy joined the Lyons crime family after his sentence and narrowly avoided death in 2006 when two hitmen from the Daniel crime clan opened fire in the Applerow Motors garage in Glasgow. Michel Lyons, 21, was shot dead, while Steven Lyons, 46, and Piggy were blasted but survived.
The 61-year-old Piggy is currently in jail for conspiracy to murder after being one of six men jailed in 2019 following a Police Scotland probe into the Lyons gang.
