ONE of Scotland’s most notorious gangland bosses will have his long-awaited extradition to Spain delayed.
Steven Lyons, the 45-year-old leader of Glasgow’s brutal Lyons gang, was arrested at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on 28 March.
The fugitive, who was subject to an Interpol Red Notice triggered by Spain’s Guardia Civil, was detained by Indonesian authorities after arriving on a flight from Singapore.
After his dramatic arrest in Bali, Lyons was deported from Indonesia boarding a flight to Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport on April 8.
Following touchdown in the Netherlands, Lyons was detained on a European Arrest Warrant issued by a Malaga judge which kickstarted the extradition process to Spain.
Lyons, however, must agree to be extradited to Spain in which case he would arrive in Spain in about 30 days.
If Lyons refuses extradition, a likely scenario given the gangland kingpin’s past attempts to evade justice, the process could face further delays.
In that case, an additional hearing in the Netherlands would be required to order his extradition, setting the case back even further.
Lyons and his wife Amanda, who was arrested in Dubai on the same day as her husband, are wanted by Spanish authorities for money laundering.
The Guardia Civil estimate that the mafia boss and his wife laundered €30 million while living on Spain’s Costa del Sol.
Their arrests followed a joint Spanish-Scottish police operation in which properties in Malaga, Barcelona and Glasgow, and its suburbs, were raided.
Lyons leads the Lyons gang, which has been locked in a brutal feud with rival Glasgow organised crime group, the Daniel gang, for more than 20 years.
In 2006, Lyons survived a Glasgow shooting, which claimed the life of his cousin Michael Lyons.
Following this execution attempt, Lyons fled to the Costa del Sol where he forged a friendship with Daniel Kinahan, leader of the notorious Kinahan Cartel.
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Lyons tapped into Kinahan’s network of criminal and drug connections linked to the Kinahan cartel to millions of dirty cash while living in Spain.
He later set up shop in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, where Kinahan also now lives.
The Lyons family, however, maintained a foothold in the Costa del Sol.
Last May, Lyons’ brother Eddie Lyons’ Jnr and his associate Ross Monaghan, were killed at a shoot-out at Fuengirola’s Monaghan’s Irish Pub by Liverpudlian Michael Riley.
Riley was extradited from the UK to face trial for the double-murder in Spain in October last year.
Polica Nacional detectives believe 45-year-old Riley is a member of the rival Daniel gang, although Police Scotland have said they have ‘no intelligence’ to support this claim.
Riley is currently being held at Alhaurin de la Torre prison near Malaga, where Lyons could also be locked up once extradited.
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When Lyons eventually touches down in Spain, he can legally be held under remand for four years.
However, once the initial two years are up, a two-year extension must be approved by a judge.
Once he touches down in Spain, Lyons will likely face a lengthy prison sentence in Spain, given the seriousness of his crimes.
However, the lengthy legal process to bring Lyons behind bars is only just beginning.
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