{"id":1003560,"date":"2026-06-03T22:45:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T22:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1003560\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T22:45:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T22:45:19","slug":"crime-boss-steven-lyons-to-challenge-spain-extradition-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1003560\/","title":{"rendered":"Crime boss Steven Lyons to challenge Spain extradition bid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">One of Scotland&#8217;s most high-profile gangland figures will contest his extradition from the Netherlands to Spain, BBC Scotland News can reveal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Steven Lyons&#8217; lawyer Arne Kloosterman has confirmed that he is planning to oppose the move when his client appears before Amsterdam District Court on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Lyons, 46, who was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cvgk157ex41o?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:arrested in Bali in March;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;arrested in Bali in March&quot;}\" class=\"link \">arrested in Bali in March<\/a> and later deported, is expected to attend the hearing. The judge&#8217;s decision will then be published on 18 June.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Police in Spain previously said they had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cly05k592ryo?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:&quot;dismantled&quot; a criminal drugs gang;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;&amp;quot&quot;}\" class=\"link \">&#8220;dismantled&#8221; a criminal drugs gang<\/a> led by members of the Lyons family.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Steven Lyons, wearing a black face mask and an orange boiler suit, is flanked by police officers\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"539\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d0c254a5e4824c7d491592d5b661052e.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Steven Lyons was wearing a face mask when he was escorted from Bali police headquarters in Denpasar [EPA]<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The Civil Guard said it had made 14 arrests in four countries, with 20 other people under investigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The arrests came as part of Operation Armorum, which has also seen police in Turkey locate and freeze high-value assets linked to the Lyons network, the statement said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The Civil Guard is one of Spain&#8217;s two national police agencies. It operates as a paramilitary organisation and deals with high-level security and serious crime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It said the Lyons operation has involved 18 raids, mostly on the Costa Del Sol and Barcelona.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Electronic devices, large amounts of cash, company documents, high-end watches and cryptocurrency wallets were seized as part of the investigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">This follows a three-year probe in collaboration with Police Scotland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The statement said the Lyons gang has developed a criminal network in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with &#8220;a complex money laundering network based on shell companies and international financial transactions, managing millions of euros derived from drug trafficking.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It added: &#8220;Its ability to operate simultaneously in several countries &#8211; including Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey &#8211; and to forge alliances with other major criminal networks, solidified the clan&#8217;s position as one of the most significant players in contemporary European organised crime.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Lyons <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/ce35kly8xzyo?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:was put on a flight out of Indonesia;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;was put on a flight out of Indonesia&quot;}\" class=\"link \">was put on a flight out of Indonesia<\/a> on 7 April.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In a release confirming the move, the local Ngurah Rai Immigration Office described him as a &#8220;mafia boss and Interpol fugitive&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The 46-year-old is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/c9vedmyem2do?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:the head of the Lyons group;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;the head of the Lyons group&quot;}\" class=\"link \">the head of the Lyons group<\/a>, which has been involved in a feud with the rival Daniel group for more than 20 years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In 2006, he survived a shooting at a garage in Lambhill in the north of Glasgow. His cousin, Michael Lyons, died in the incident.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Lyons later moved to Spain before settling in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where he has ties to the Dubai-based Kinahan crime group.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Lyons&#8217; brother, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/c991jpemrd9o?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Eddie Lyons Jnr, and his associate Ross Monaghan;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Eddie Lyons Jnr, and his associate Ross Monaghan&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Eddie Lyons Jnr, and his associate Ross Monaghan<\/a> were shot dead in a beachfront bar in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol last May.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Michael Riley, 44, from Liverpool, has been accused by Spanish police of the murders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He had challenged an extradition bid but the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed in October that he had given his consent to be taken to Spain to face prosecution.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In the days after the double shooting, a Spanish National Police detective said the suspect was a member of the rival Daniel gang.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Police Scotland have maintained there is nothing to suggest the murders in Spain are linked to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/c5yqvg21xpzo?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:ongoing gang war or that it was planned in Scotland;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;ongoing gang war or that it was planned in Scotland&quot;}\" class=\"link \">ongoing gang war or that it was planned in Scotland<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of Scotland&#8217;s most high-profile gangland figures will contest his extradition from the Netherlands to Spain, BBC Scotland&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":770443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5312],"tags":[278289,164786,213745,121489,2000,299,278288,65343,530,712,104,65340],"class_list":["post-1003560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-amsterdam-district-court","tag-bbc-scotland-news","tag-civil-guard","tag-criminal-network","tag-eu","tag-europe","tag-lyons-family","tag-michael-lyons","tag-police-scotland","tag-scotland","tag-spain","tag-steven-lyons"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116688606189286682","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1003560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/770443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1003560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1003560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1003560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}