Kinahan cartel associates hell-bent on revenge after Costa del Sol Irish pub shooting
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Associates of the Kinahan cartel are hell-bent on revenge after two senior members of their gang were shot dead in an Irish pub on the Costa del Sol, insiders fear.
Underworld sources have told The Irish Mirror that they fear the deadly Lyons gang will now seek bloody revenge for the shock slaying of Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr at a pub in Fuengirola near Malaga on Saturday night. The Lyons gang – one of Scotland's most deadly crime outfits – has been left reeling following the double murder as the pair watched the Champions League final at Monaghan's pub on Saturday night.
Irish underworld sources say leaders of the gang are closely associated with mob boss Daniel Kinahan – and they will not let the killings go unanswered.
"There will be hell to pay over this. The Lyons lads will not let this go," one source said.
"They will be baying for blood and it is more likely to happen in Spain than anywhere else. That is the fear."
Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan were key members of the gang that worked with Kinahan, 47, on the massive cocaine shipment that was seized by the Army Ranger Wing off the south coast almost two years ago.
Underworld sources told us the gang the men worked for teamed up with the Kinahan cartel to organise the huge, 2.5 tonnes shipment of cocaine - worth up to €450 million on the streets - seized by the ARW on the MV Matthew off the Wexford coast in September 2023.
Eight men have pleaded guilty over the MV Matthew plot - and are due to be sentenced at the non-jury Special Criminal Court in Dublin later this week.
Sources say gardai are satisfied the killing of the two Scottish criminals outside a bar in Fuengirola was not connected to the MV Matthew haul - or the Kinahan cartel itself.
Instead, they are believed to have been targeted as part of an ongoing feud between Scottish gangs.
Now there are real fears that the simmering Scottish feud will erupt into more violence in Scotland.
The pair were shot dead after watching the Champions League final at Monaghan's Pub in Fuengirola.
A masked gunman jumped out of a vehicle at 11.30pm, fired several rounds at the entrance of the bar, striking one of the men in the chest and the other in the chest and abdomen.
The gunman then fled in the same vehicle which was driven by an accomplice - leaving tourists and expats in the bar terrified.
The shootings are linked to Scotland's ongoing gangland war which has seen attacks on homes and properties linked to Glasgow's Daniel crime clan.
Harrowing images from the scene show a man lying lifeless on his back in shorts and a T-shirt, next to a chalkboard on a terrace outside the Irish bar.
In other images, police and paramedics can be seen surrounding the body of one of the victims, thought to be the same man, after he was covered under a blanket as shocked locals and holidaymakers looked on.
Monaghan was previously cleared of the murder of notorious Glasgow hood Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll, who was shot dead in a gangland assassination in the Asda Robroyston carpark in 2010.
He was tried for the killing, but was acquitted in May 2012. He was also cleared of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of the two guns used in the shooting and torching the getaway car.
In August 2017, Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr were both cleared of being involved in a brutal street attack on three men outside the Campsie bar in Bishopbriggs. The brutal ambush left one of the victim's ears hanging off.
However, the case collapsed after prosecutors withdrew the charges against them following two days of evidence.
Monaghan had also survived a previous murder attempt.
In 2017, he was shot by a gunman disguised as a pram-pushing dad outside St George's Primary School in Glasgow.
Eddie Lyons Jnr was a key figure in his family's crime clan with his brother Steven Lyons now living in Dubai - where he is said to be close to Daniel Kinahan, who is holed up there with his father Christy, 67, and brother Christopher, 44.
The shock Costa Del Sol killings come amidst a violent gang war that has been raging in Scotland since March.
The feud first erupted following a fallout between rival gangsters after a €600k stash of cocaine was reportedly swiped from under the nose of Dubai-based Mr Big, Ross McGill.
The drugs were reportedly taken by caged Edinburgh kingpin Mark Richardson's foot soldiers sparking a series of violent attacks on homes and businesses.
McGill has waged war on Richardson and his associates, including the Daniel crime clan in Glasgow. Mr Big's enforcers, a faceless and frightening group going by the name of Tamo Junto (TMJ), have carried out a series of fire bombings and other vicious attacks on homes, businesses and cars associated with Richardson and the Daniel clan.
Last week, it emerged that McGill had agreed to end hostilities after being leaned on by cartel bosses in Dubai.
However gangland enforcers Tamo Junto (TMJ) quickly quashed any talk of peace as they vowed to continue to carry out the turf war.
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