David McIntosh

John Hall and David McIntosh were found dead on a dirt track in Larkhall in 2001.

They had been involved in small time car crime but later moved into drugs. However, it was said that after cocaine worth £120,000 was seized by the police and they failed to pay for it they were both shot in the head.

They were described as petty criminals that had blundered out of their depth.

They had taken five kilograms of cocaine which they intended to cut and then sell on and had ordered a small-time drug dealer who owed them thousands of pounds to hide it at his workplace, NTL in Livingston, West Lothian. However, the man was caught with the drugs and sent to prison in December 2000 for six years.

However, John Hall and David McIntosh were put under increasing pressure to pay for the drugs.

Then, on 3 October 2001 John Hall and David McIntosh were found dead in an old scrapyard near to a go-karting arena, Summerlee raceway, in Merryton Road and close to the M74 after having last been seen at the Gretna greyhound track at 8pm. David McIntosh's black Volkswagen Golf car, registration number X468 ABV, was found burned out nearby.

Police said that they were interested in speaking to anyone that had seen the car between 6pm on the Tuesday 2 October 2001 and the afternoon of 3 October 2001 when their bodies were found. They had both left their respective homes at 6pm to go out for a social night together. They were found at 4.20pm on 3 October by a female pensioner who had been out for a walk.

They had been seen at the greyhound track in Gretna at 8pm and it was thought that they had left between 9pm and 10pm. It was said that the journey from their homes to the greyhound track was a two hour one and that they would have taken the M74 and on the return journey would have come off at Larkhall and then taken the Hamilton Road towards the Go-Kart circuit and then down the track into the disused scrap yard. The site was dark and noted for its isolated location and seclusion.

They had both been shot through the head in the car at close range. Their bodies were found close to one another and had been dowsed in petrol and burned with the car.

When the police went to see the man that had lost the cocaine in prison and told him that John Hall and David McIntosh had been found shot dead, they said that he knew immediately who had done it and why. It was said that the main suspect was another car criminal that had subsequently emerged to become a successful criminal known for his violence and involvement in the gang wars in Paisley. The man was said to have started off like John Hall and David McIntosh in the stolen car market and to have had a similar interest in greyhound racing.

The police said that John Hall had recently been charged with being part of a £140,000 car crime ring that was stealing and selling cars with false registration plates and identification numbers but the trial, which was due to take place at Hamilton Sheriff Court in April 2000 collapsed due to lack of evidence and legal complications over European human rights laws. He had denied the charges.

The police said that there was a possibility that their murders could be linked to the murders of William Lindsay and John Henry Nisbet who were found shot and set on fire in a field in Elphinstone, Tranent in 1999.

At the time they were both unemployed.