\n However, the Spanish National Police have since stated that Monaghan and Lyons Junior were allegedly \u2018targeted by a professional killer from the Daniel crime group\u2019.\n<\/p>\n
\n Now, Police Scotland has acknowledged this\u00a0statement from the Spanish authorities but says its position remains that there is no current evidence to suggest the alleged attack was orchestrated from Scotland.\n<\/p>\n
\n READ NEXT:\u00a0Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Junior ‘shot by member of Daniel gang’<\/a><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n \n Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston said: \u201cWe have been assisting Spanish colleagues with their investigation into the fatal shootings in Fuengirola.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cWe are not aware of any current evidence which suggests the deaths of these two men in Spain are linked to the recent criminal attacks in Scotland being investigated as part of Operation Portaledge.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cWe are aware of the statement from the Spanish police and, although we cannot comment on an ongoing investigation in another jurisdiction, our position remains that we have no current evidence to suggest that this incident was orchestrated from Scotland.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cWe are aware of the arrest of an individual in the Merseyside area and will continue to support colleagues in Spain where necessary and if required by them.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n Operation Portaledge is the ongoing investigation into ‘violent’ incidents which have taken place across the Central Belt of Scotland in recent months.\n<\/p>\n \n We previously reported that Chief Superintendent Pedro Agudo Novo, head of the Malaga provincial judicial police unit, had spoken out at a press conference in the city on Tuesday.\n<\/p>\n \n The senior officer said the alleged attack had been carried out with a \u201chigh degree of professionalism\u201d.\n<\/p>\n \n READ NEXT:\u00a0‘Suspect’ in shooting of Glasgow duo in Spain ‘fled in 15 hours’<\/a><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n \n Chief Superintendent Agudo Novo described the alleged suspect as an \u201cinternal member of the rival Daniels gang\u201d who had reportedly \u2018meticulously\u2019 planned the shootings.\n<\/p>\n \n He told reporters Lyons Junior had been shot while he sat at a table outside the bar, but the gunman\u2019s weapon reportedly jammed, allowing Monaghan to attempt to escape inside the bar.\n<\/p>\n \n However, he is said to have been pursued and shot.\n<\/p>\n \n The alleged gunman is said to have fled the scene using a route which included a train tunnel, where there were few security cameras.\n<\/p>\n \n Chief Superintendent Agudo Novo added that the alleged gunman fled to Portugal from Spain by land, before boarding a flight to Leeds.\n<\/p>\n \n He is then reported to have changed addresses three times on his return to England before being tracked down in Liverpool under an international arrest warrant.\n<\/p>\n \n Investigators said they believe he was preparing to flee the UK for a \u201cparadise island\u201d where no extradition treaty was available, but they did not disclose the exact location.\n<\/p>\n \n READ NEXT:\u00a0Man arrested in connection with Monaghan and Lyons shooting<\/a><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n \n Chief Supt Agudo Novo said: “The double murder was carried out by a professional killer and member of one of the victims’ rival gangs.\n<\/p>\n \n “In this case, we’re not talking about an independent hired killer but an internal member of the rival Daniels gang who ends up assassinating two members of an enemy gang.”\n<\/p>\n \n Detectives in Spain said they were hopeful of making further arrests but believed the alleged gunman had \u2018acted alone\u2019.\n<\/p>\n \n Chief Inspector Juan Antonio Sillero, from the specialist Udyco Costa Del Sol police unit, which also led the operation to track down the alleged suspect, said he believed both Monaghan and Lyons Junior \u2018were the intended targets\u2019.\n<\/p>\n \n Spanish police have not yet formally named the suspect, a 44-year-old man, but did acknowledge he was \u201cEnglish, not Scottish\u201d.\n<\/p>\n