Fears murdered kingpin's alliance with Irish crime gang may lead to deadly revenge on Scots streets

Scottish Sun

2 days ago

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AN ALLIANCE with the Irish Kinahan crime cartel struck up by murdered kingpin Ross Monaghan could lead to deadly revenge on the streets of Scotland, it is feared.
Monaghan is said to have been instrumental in building an alliance between the Lyons family and the world's most wanted mob when he boldly approached godfather Daniel Kinahan several years ago.
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Eddie Lyons Jnr (left) and Ross Monaghan (right) were shot to death in a bar in Spain
Credit: The Scottish Sun
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Steven Lyons could reach out to their allies in the feared Kinahan crime gang
Credit: The Scottish Sun
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Ross Monaghan is said to have been instrumental in building an alliance between the Lyons family and the Kinahan cartel
Credit: The Scottish Sun
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Daniel Kinahan
He formed a relationship with the global mob boss that has prevailed ever since - giving the Lyons extra power and control over Scotland's illegal drug trade.
The claims emerged after Monaghan, 43, and Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46, were slaughtered in a Spanish bloodbath amid the worst explosion of underworld violence in decades.
And sources say bosses including Steven Lyons could reach out to the Kinahans for help as they plot revenge over a slaughter that's shocked even the most hardened mobsters.
An insider said: 'Ross Monaghan was a powerful and influential figure within the Lyons gang and often made the big decisions.
'He was at least on a par with Steven Lyons who is seen as the gang's top dog.
'Monaghan was the one who made a bold move when he introduced himself to Daniel Kinahan a few years ago and offered to work with him.
'Kinahan obviously would have looked into his background and liked what he saw.
'So Monaghan can take credit for sealing the deal that gave the Lyons the backing of one of the biggest criminal networks on the planet.
'It could be that his links to the Kinahans gave him a false sense of security and now he's paid the ultimate price.'
Fresh details about the Lyons' links to the Kinahan cartel emerged after Monaghan and Lyons Jnr were brutally taken out in a gangland ambush at their Spanish bolthole.
Man walked through Carlow shopping centre firing into air before being confronted by cops as crowds ran from scene
Last night it was claimed two hit men from Liverpool carried out the brutal slaying - sparking fury among high-ranking members of the Lyons crime clan.
Steven Lyons is said to be furious over the shooting of his brother Eddie and close pal Monaghan and ready to use his Kinahan connections to hit back hard.
An insider said: 'There is going to be revenge over this.
'Eddie Jnr was well liked and was keeping a low profile while he got over the death of a family member.
'Steven is mourning his brother but he's also furious that he was just wiped out in the way he was.
'He was close to Ross as well, it's a double blow that's going to change the dynamic of the power struggle to control the supply of drugs in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
'It would be no surprise if the Kinahans are brought in to help hit back at whoever was responsible for this.
'The word is that two Scousers were brought in to carry out the contract to put some distance between those who ordered the executions.'
"Steven is mourning his brother but he's also furious that he was just wiped out in the way he was."
Just two weeks ago, sources say, Lyons Jnr had been back in Glasgow having a drink with pals.
He told them he was going back to Spain to sort some business out but would be back in Glasgow soon.
He regularly made the three-hour flight back and forwards and was a regular in the bars in Fuengirola.
He was also regularly spotted in up-market Marbella which is just a short drive along Spain's Costa Del Sol.
Fugitive mob boss Daniel Kinahan, 47, his dad Christy, 67, and brother Christy Jnr, 43, are all wanted by American and Irish forces over their leading role in international crime rackets.
A £4million bounty was put on their heads by the US in 2022.
The Kinahans, from Dublin, have a string of links to Scots crime figures, including the Lyons mob.
Steven, son of former gang chief Eddie Lyons Snr, has never been convicted of a serious crime despite his crew's bitter feud with the rival Daniel clan.
He went to Spain in 2006 after being shot and seriously injured at his uncle's garage in Lambhill, Glasgow, in an attack that saw his cousin Michael, 21, killed.
Dubai-based hood driving Scots gang warned to 'avoid Spain'
EXCL BY CHRIS TAYLOR
THE Dubai-based hood driving a gang war in Scotland was warned to keep out of Spain days before two Lyons gang mobsters were assassinated, sources claim.
Ross 'Miami' McGill, 31, was said to have been issued the threat after rejecting truce talks with heavies acting for Glasgow's notorious Daniel clan.
It's claimed a senior hood linked to caged Edinburgh mob boss Mark Richardson and Steven 'Bonzo' Daniel issued the 'keep out' warning after approaching McGill in a Dubai nightclub.
The insider told how rivals had been keeping tabs on close associates of Ross Monaghan, 43, and Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46, before their execution in Fuengirola on Saturday.
Read more on this story
It's believed he splits his time between Spain and Dubai.
The double murder comes amid a stunning escalation in violence after months of firebombings, shootings and assaults on associates of the notorious Daniel clan - sworn enemies of the Lyons for decades.
The campaign of violence began in Edinburgh where associates connected to caged Edinburgh kingpin Mark Richardson, 38, came under attack by mobsters acting for Dubai-based hood Ross McGill, 31.
Underworld sources say the feud was sparked when Richardson cronies ripped off McGill in a £500,000 cocaine deal using fake notes.
But focus shifted to the age-old rivalry between Glasgow's warring gangs when Steven 'Bonzo' Daniel, 45, and other crime clan family members had their homes and businesses torched in a wave of violence.
Until recently the attacks seemed to be coming from one direction with sources claiming Daniel heavies had tried and failed to convince McGill to enter truce talks.
We also told of claims mobsters based in Spain were involved in helping organise attacks by recruiting footsoldiers and identifying targets in the ongoing turf war.
Warning of a retaliation from Richardson and the Daniel chiefs had been brewing and sources say Monaghan - aware of the threat - had been in training as a cage fighter to keep himself in tip-top condition.
In the months before he became the latest victim in Scotland's gang wars, he told pals he wanted to make certain he was ready for anything.
Our source said: 'Ross liked to look after himself, he was a bit of a fitness freak.
'He's had a few bouts behind closed doors and was doing well. He was very handy with his fists and feet.
'But he knew he had to make sure he would be able to handle anything as he'd upset a lot of dangerous people.
'Everyone knew he was wary of anybody he didn't know - and he tried to make sure he had tight security.
'The Lyons mob have lost one of their top boys as well as a family member so they'll be out for revenge.'
The Lyons and Daniel mobs have been locked in a violent power battle since a cocaine theft in 2001.
Career criminal Monaghan, who fled Scotland for Spain after a failed attempt on his life outside a Glasgow primary school in 2017, was tried but acquitted over the murder of notorious Glasgow hood Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll at an Asda car park in 2010.
The shooting in Spain comes amid a violent gang war that has ripped through Scotland since March said to have started over a fallout over drugs.