Man accused of double murder of Scottish gangsters in Irish bar deemed 'flight risk'

Sunday World

5 hours ago

Michael Riley (44) of Merseyside is accused of the Costa del Sol hit on Lyons gang members Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr
A man accused of gunning down two Scottish gangsters at an Irish bar in Spain would have bolted if granted bail, a court has heard.
Michael Riley (44) of Merseyside is accused of the Costa del Sol hit on Lyons gang members Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr.
Riley, who is the subject of an extradition warrant by Spanish authorities over the murders of both men, was remanded in custody during a brief hearing following his arrest on Friday.
Riley was deemed a flight risk when he appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday, where court heard he was 'likely to abscond' if given liberty.
According to the Scottish Sun, lawyers acting for Riley didn't make a bail application ahead of a second court date on Thursday when the alleged hitman is due to appear via video link.
Riley had been detained in Liverpool two weeks after the Lyons gangsters were gunned down in Monaghan's Irish pub in Fuengirola, the Sun reported previously.
Police Scotland had insisted in the days after the May 31 double murder they had no information to suggest the horror crimes were in any way linked to the gang feuding which has been going on there.
But Malaga-based Spanish police chief Pedro Agudo Novo today described the suspected killer arrested in Liverpool last Friday as a member of the Daniels gang which has long been at loggerheads with the Lyons gang the dead men belonged to.
The chief superintendent also revealed the dramatic arrest was made as detectives discovered the alleged gunman was about to flee his UK bolt hole for a "paradise island tax haven."
The scene of the shooting
News in 90 Seconds - June 17
Speaking at the first press conference Spanish police have held since the killings, Mr Agudo Novo who heads up a provincial Judicial Police unit, said: 'The double murder was carried out by a professional killer and member of one of the victims' rival gangs.
'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.
'I want to highlight the high level of professionalism of this individual. Not only did he walk up to the table where the victims were sitting and kill the first man before continuing with his mission when his gun jammed.
'It's not normal for a criminal to react the way he did in the face of this unexpected problem and resolve the situation to continue and pursue his second victim inside the bar and kill him.
'His escape was also a very professional one. It was clear he had previously studied all the cameras in the area and undertaken some other investigative procedures I can't go into at this stage.
'He had his escape route perfectly planned out, picking areas where there were a lack of cameras and at one point even entering a train tunnel and crossing the tracks because he knew he couldn't be filmed there.'
The police chief said "Absolutely" when asked if he thought the suspect, now facing extradition to Spain and a double murder charge, had travelled from the UK to Spain to carry out his alleged crimes.
He added: 'His escape route involved travelling from Spain to Portugal and he then took a plane from Portugal to Leeds.
'Once he got to Leeds, with the support of his gang, he changed addresses three times.
'It took us four days to get an idea of who he was and another three, so seven days in total, to get a name for the man we wanted arrested.
'That's when we contacted the British police and asked a court in Fuengirola to issue an international arrest warrant.
'The last address the suspect was tracked down to was in Liverpool.
'We discovered that the day he was arrested he was planning to flee the UK for a paradise island, a tax haven with which there would have been no extradition treaty.'
Mr Agudo Novo was asked to name the destination but said he couldn't for 'operational reasons' as the investigation remained open and police were hopeful of making more arrests, although he said he believed the suspected gunman had 'acted alone.'