Shootings in Spain could bring 'new level of violence' to organised crime in Scotland

STV News

2 days ago

The double murder of two Scottish men who have links to the criminal underworld in Spain could mark a 'new level of violence', says the former director general of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency.
Eddie Lyons Junior and Ross Monaghan were gunned down outside Monaghans Irish Bar in Fuengirola by a masked assailant who fled shortly after 11pm local time.
The pair have been involved in a rivalry with the Daniels organised crime group for more than two decades.
The fear is that the double murder, which took place around 25 miles south of Malaga in the province of Andalucia, could spark retaliation on Scottish soil.
Graeme Pearson, the former director general of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, told STV News: 'I don't think that you could overestimate the impact that will arise from the deaths of these two men.
'Both Lyons and Monaghan have been part of organised crime and criminality in Scotland for well over a decade, and their names have been connected to a great deal that one calls organised crime.
'Their movement to Spain must be an indication that they didn't feel thoroughly safe in Scotland. But this week, we've discovered that even in Spain, they can be reached, and they were murdered.
'In the last 20 years or so, organised crime has become increasingly powerful. The Lyons family were a very significant family unit, who were known as very significant importers of drugs affecting Glasgow and the rest of Scotland.
'They were one of the many families who bypassed English criminals and made connections in Europe – and elsewhere in the world – to import, first of all heroin, and then cocaine into the country.
'Monaghan was well-known for his previous violence and was connected to the murder of a man outside an Asda supermarket many years ago, although a subsequent trial found him innocent.
'But that trial did reveal the degree of corruption that surrounded their involvement in public life in Scotland and was an indication of how powerful these crime groups have become.' STV News Graeme Pearson, the former director general of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency.
Police Scotland told STV News the Spanish authorities were leading the investigation and it was unable to comment on any potential links to a recent gang war in Scotland.
A feud between the Lyons and the Daniels organised crime groups has been ongoing for decades and has resulted in numerous violent incidents.
Last month, Police Scotland made more than 40 arrests linked to ongoing violence in the west and east of Scotland.
The criminal feud ignited after gunmen targeted two homes in Edinburgh within 48 hours. Several homes and businesses have been torched in recent months.
It is currently not known if the targeted killings of Eddie Lyons Junior and Ross Monaghan are linked to the war which has gripped Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Pearson believes the shootings may bring a whole 'new level of violence' to Scotland.
He said: 'There is a presumption that it has something to do with the ongoing saga which has brought crime groups into violence and fire-raising in Scotland.
'One needs to keep an open mind that there may well be other crime groups across the world, who feel upset at the presence of these two men in Spain.
'First of all, let's follow the evidence and find out if there is indeed a link to Scotland and confirm that. If it's true, this is a new level of violence that we haven't previously witnessed in organised crime in Scotland.'
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