The man blamed for murdering knife victim Omer Sadiq is being protected by a housebreaking gang, underworld sources have claimed.
The company director has gone to ground since gangland figure Sadiq, 32, was fatally wounded as he sat in his car this month.
His associates went online and brazenly offered a £25,000 bounty for information leading them to the 28-year-old businessman’s whereabouts and posted his photograph.
However, the suspect – whose home was targeted in a petrol bomb attack days after the murder in Glasgow’s Pollok – is being shielded by professional burglars, it has been claimed.
The criminal gang – who also have links to the illegal drugs trade – have been behind a series of high-value home invasions in the west of Scotland.
They have targeted wealthy Asian families believed to keep expensive jewellery and money inside their property.
One source said: “Sadiq’s friends know who’s hiding the man they want for his murder. They’re on the warpath.
"The gang protecting him have been breaking into houses for years and made a fortune from the amount of gold they’ve taken.
“One of them even picked him up and took him to a safehouse. They’ve now also branched into other things including drugs and legitimate businesses.
“Both sides have plenty of money behind them. It’s only a matter of time before something else bad happens.”
Sadiq, who died in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital on September 15, had his funeral at Glasgow Central Mosque on Friday.
A shrine in the street where he was stabbed was set on fire hours before he was laid to rest.
The dad was linked to race-hate killers Imran “Baldy” Shahid, his brother Zeeshan Shahid and Faisal Mushtaq, who were all sentenced to life in 2006 after being found guilty of killing Kriss Donald, 15.
Sadiq was linked to a knife attack on a witness involved in the case in 2008.
He was jailed for five years in 2009 for trying to ram a rival off the road while pointing a firearm at the car.
Police Scotland Chief Inspector Shaheen Baber said: “We are following a positive line of inquiry into the murder of Omer Sadiq.
“Additional uniformed patrols are ongoing in relevant local areas of the south side of the city, with officers continuing to engage with communities.”
