Court officials said 24 people they described as being “all foreigners” were under investigation in Spain – but only seven suspects had been arrested there so far and another three abroad.
Gerard Couzens News Correspondent
12:59, 13 Apr 2026Updated 13:35, 13 Apr 2026
Steven Lyons, held in Amsterdam last Wednesday after being deported from Bali
Spanish authorities revealed today they were still hunting “several” fugitives following their Lyons gang take-down as fascinating new details of the two-year-long operation were released.
Court officials said 24 people they described as being “all foreigners” were under investigation in Spain – but only seven suspects had been arrested there so far and another three abroad who were now facing extradition to Malaga.
They include gang leader Steven Lyons, held in Amsterdam last Wednesday after being deported from Bali, his wife Amanda who was arrested at Dubai Airport and a third man arrested in the UK who has not been named.
Officials also confirmed two of the seven people held in Spain during nearly 20 raids on the Costa del Sol have been remanded in custody and the rest have been bailed but banned from leaving the country.
Amanda Lyons(Image: Facebook)
The Civil Guard released spectacular footage last Thursday following hoodlum Steven Lyons’ arrest in Amsterdam showing heavily-armed officers smashing down doors with battering rams as they dubbed his gang a “highly sophisticated criminal organisation characterised by violence.”
The Fuengirola pub where owner Ross Monaghan, a senior Lyons gang member, was assassinated along with Steven’s brother Eddie Jnr after last May’s Champions League final was one of the places the Civil Guard targeted.
Seafront drinking hole Monaghans Fuengirola reopened under the new name Irish Rovers after the brutal crime, linked by Spanish police to a turf war between the Lyons gang and the rival Daniel crime clan.
Alleged killer Michael Riley is currently languishing in a prison near Malaga after being arrested in Liverpool last June and extradited to Spain nearly four months later to face charges and trial over the murders of Ross, 43, and his 46-year-old gang pal.
Andalucia’s High Court of Justice, resuming the current state of the Malaga court-led judicial investigation linked to the Civil Guard’s Operation Armorum against the Lyons gang, said: “Malaga Court Number Seven began its investigation in 2024.
“The main crimes under investigation are money laundering and membership of a criminal organization.
“So far, there are 24 individuals under investigation, with varying degrees of involvement and responsibility in the events. It appears that all of them are foreigners.
Steven Lyons was arrested in Bali(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“A total of 19 searches have been carried out, mainly in private homes: one search in Barcelona, another in the city of Malaga, and the rest in Fuengirola and Mijas.
“As a result of these searches, seven people were arrested or turned themselves in to the court after learning they were being sought.
“Of these seven, two were refused bail and remanded to prison, one on suspicion of crimes against public health because drugs were seized as well as money laundering and membership of a criminal gang, and the second for money laundering and criminal group membership.
“The other five were released on provisional bail, with conditions which include surrendering their passports, a ban on leaving Spain, and the obligation to report periodically to the court.
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“There are three other detainees who are currently abroad and awaiting extradition to Spain.
“They are alleged leader of the organization Steven L; his wife who is detained in Dubai and also awaiting extradition; and a third person in the UK, also pending transfer to Spain.
“Currently there are several international arrest warrants out for the remaining suspects, which have not yet yielded positive results.”
Well-placed sources said they believed the number of people who were on the run from Spanish authorities to be around “three or four.”
Several people have also been held separately in Scotland who are not at this stage being sought by the Spanish court.
Yesterday it emerged the police operation that led to the arrest of Kinahan crime cartel ‘key member’ Johnny Morrissey was key to the takedown of the ruthless Lyons gang.
British-born Irish passport holder Morrissey was held in September 2022 at an apartment near Marbella on suspicion of money laundering and membership of a criminal gang.
His Glasgow-born wife Nicola was also arrested in the Spanish Civil Guard operation, led by the force’s elite Central
Operative Unit which also played a key role in the latest operation.
The pair remain under investigation but are yet to be told if they will be formally charged and are currently on bail.
Their arrests followed a much-celebrated police infiltration of EncroChat, an encrypted communications service widely used by criminals, between March and June 2020.
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