Spanish police ‘dismantle’ Scottish drugs gang as crime boss arrested
Spanish Law Enforcement Disrupts Scottish Drug Syndicate Amid Arrest of Key Leader
Spanish authorities have claimed to have dismantled a drug-trafficking syndicate linked to the Lyons family, with the group’s leader, Steven Lyons, apprehended in the Netherlands following his deportation from Bali. The 45-year-old Glasgow-based crime boss was taken into custody on 28 March after arriving in Indonesia from Singapore, according to a statement from the country’s Civil Guard.
The operation, named Operation Armorum, involved 18 raids across Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey in the past week. During these actions, police seized electronic devices, substantial cash, company records, luxury timepieces, and cryptocurrency wallets. The Civil Guard reported 14 arrests in four nations, with an additional 20 individuals under investigation. They anticipate Lyons will reach Spain in two to three weeks, though delays are possible if he resists extradition.
“We will not allow Indonesian territory, especially Bali, to become a haven or base of operations for international criminals,” said Bugie Kurniawan, head of the Ngurah Rai Immigration Office, which confirmed Lyons’ deportation.
Lyons, who had been on an Interpol Red Notice, was detained on the same day his wife, Amanda, was arrested in Dubai. The arrests mark the culmination of a three-year investigation conducted in partnership with Police Scotland. The Civil Guard highlighted that the Lyons gang has established a vast criminal network spanning Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, including a sophisticated money laundering scheme through shell companies and global financial transactions.
The group’s operations have enabled it to function across multiple countries, such as Spain, the UAE, and Turkey, while forming alliances with other major criminal organizations. This has cemented the Lyons clan’s status as a major force in European organized crime. Previously, Lyons moved to Spain before settling in Dubai, where he has connections to the Kinahan crime group.
Lyons is also at the center of a longstanding rivalry with the Daniel group, which has persisted for over two decades. In 2006, he survived a shooting at a Lambhill garage in Glasgow, during which his cousin lost his life. His brother, Eddie Lyons Jnr, and associate Ross Monaghan were fatally shot in a Fuengirola beachfront bar last May. Spanish police accuse Michael Riley, 44, from Liverpool, of the murders. Riley had initially opposed extradition but later gave his consent to be transferred to Spain for trial.
Police Scotland has clarified that the killings in Spain are not connected to the ongoing gang war or planned from the UK. The Civil Guard emphasized that the Lyons operation was a coordinated effort to dismantle its influence across international borders.
