ONE of Scotland’s most notorious gangland bosses is facing extradition to Spain after he was arrested arriving at Bali airport.
Steven Lyons, 45, was detained at an Indonesian airport immigration checkpoint on Saturday just hours after heavily armed police swooped on his associates at properties in Mijas, Barcelona and Scotland.
The mafia kingpin, who lived on the Costa del Sol, had just stepped off a flight from Singapore when he was flagged by an Interpol Red Notice triggered by Spain’s Guardia Civil.
READ MORE: Eight arrested in dawn raids across Spain and Scotland following two-year probe into organised crime
The police operations, coordinated across countries, continents and timezones, marks the culmination of years-long operation to bring the Lyons crime family down.
The efforts were put into overdrive with the high-profile slayings of Steven Lyon’s brother, Eddie Lyons Jnr, and their associate Ross Monaghan in a Fuengirola bar last May.
Humiliating footage released by Indonesian authorities showed Lyons holding his head in his hands while wearing a backpack, a black t-shirt and green shorts.
READ MORE: Man suspected of gunning down two gangsters in Costa del Sol bar to be extradited to Spain
Indonesian immigration officials confirmed he is suspected of being the mastermind behind the operation of several fictitious companies and involved in money laundering.
His capture at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport follows a two-year international investigation into the smuggling of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine.
It came just 24 hours after coordinated 4am raids smashed his illicit drug and money laundering empire on Friday.
Expats and locals were woken by a police helicopter sweeping low over Mijas and neighbouring Fuengirola from 6am as officers moved in.
The joint operation, coordinated by Europol and Eurojust alongside Police Scotland and the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), saw five people arrested in Mijas and Barcelona.
A further eight men, aged between 35 and 64, were detained across Scotland and are due to appear at Airdrie and Glasgow Sheriff Courts today.
Police say the gang’s leadership directed the smuggling and laundered millions of pounds from safe havens in Spain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
READ MORE: Major Scottish gangland figures linked to horror double shooting in Fuengirola arrested in Dubai
Lyons had previously forged close ties with Dubai-based Irish mafia boss Daniel Kinahan to tap into the cartel’s global drug network while living on the Costa del Sol.
Lyons had been using the UAE as a safe haven until his arrest there and release from police custody five months ago.
The mobster was then reportedly arrested in Bahrain earlier this month, after which his exact whereabouts were shrouded in mystery.
He managed to transit through Singapore undetected before the net finally closed on Saturday when he landed at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport and walked straight into the Interpol alert.
Authorities in Turkey also assisted the sting, seizing a villa, company shares and two plots of land worth around €600,000.
Ngurah Rai Immigration Office head Bugie Kurniawan said that Bali will never be a safe haven for international fugitives.
He said: “Our system is well integrated, and our officers are experienced in identifying and securing individuals on Interpol’s wanted list.”
The dramatic arrests come less than a year after the killings of Lyons Jnr, Monaghan in a beachfront bar owned by the latter in Fuengirola.
The pair were assassinated by a lone gunman last May while watching the Champions League final, an attack linked to a 20-year blood feud with the rival Glasgow-based Daniel crime clan.
READ MORE: Suspect arrested in Liverpool over shooting of two Scottish gangsters on the Costa del Sol
An alleged hitman from Liverpool, Michael Riley, 45, was extradited from the UK in June to face prosecution in Spain over the double murder.
However, Police Scotland detectives continue to maintain that Friday’s raids were entirely separate from the ongoing investigation into the Fuengirola killings.
Click here to read more Spain News from The Olive Press.
