Walter Finch
A BAND of notorious Scottish gangland figures with links to mafia activity on the Costa del Sol have been arrested in Dubai.
Steven Lyons, Ross McGill, Stephen Jamieson and Steven Larwood were detained by Dubai Police on September 17 following intelligence shared with detectives in Scotland.
The arrests come just months after a shocking double killing on the Costa del Sol.
In May, Lyons’ brother, Eddie Lyons Jnr, and associate Ross Monaghan were gunned down by a lone shooter at a beachfront bar in Fuengirola after watching the Champions League final.
The murders shook the resort town and placed renewed focus on Scotland’s long-running underworld feud, which has stretched from Glasgow to Spain.
Spanish police have accused Michael Riley, 44, from Liverpool, of carrying out the Fuengirola killings, with an extradition hearing expected later this year.
At the time, investigators suggested he may have links to the rival Daniel clan, although Police Scotland has insisted there is no evidence the murders were ordered from Scotland.
READ MORE: Suspect arrested in Liverpool over shooting of two Scottish gangsters on the Costa del Sol
Steven Lyons is the head of the Lyons crime group, locked in a bloody dispute with the Daniels for more than two decades.
In 2006 he survived a shooting at a Glasgow garage that killed his cousin, Michael Lyons. He later based himself in Spain before moving on to Dubai, where other associates also relocated.
McGill, once a senior member of Rangers ultras group the Union Bears, has more recently been accused of playing a central role in the feud that has led to shootings, firebombings and assaults across Scotland since March.
Larwood is described as a close Lyons ally who previously lived in Spain, while Jamieson has connections to Jamie ‘Iceman’ Stevenson, jailed last year for plotting to smuggle €100m of cocaine from South America in banana shipments.
Operation Portaledge, launched by Police Scotland in response to the escalating violence, has already seen 57 arrests.
But sources told the BBC that the detention of Lyons and his associates in Dubai marks a turning point. “All four are operating at the highest level of organised crime, both at a UK and an international level,” one insider said.
It is not yet clear whether charges will be filed in the UAE or whether extradition to Scotland will be sought. Police Scotland has so far declined to comment, while Dubai authorities have referred queries to the UK Embassy.
The arrests underline the Costa del Sol’s enduring role as a haven and battleground for northern European crime groups – and the international scale of the violence they leave in their wake.
Click here to read more Costa Del Sol News from The Olive Press.
