Latest news with #LyonsFamily
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Drug kingpin gunned down in Costa del Sol bar with Scottish gangster was 'seen as top dog by rival cartels' - before having £250k bounty put on his head
A notorious British gangland figure who was gunned down in a brutal double shooting on the Costa del Sol is believed to have had a £250,000 contract placed on his life amid growing tensions with a rival Spanish drugs crew. Ross Monaghan, 43, long associated with Glasgow 's violent Lyons crime family, was assassinated alongside fellow mobster Eddie Lyons Jr, 46, outside a bar he owned in Fuengirola, southern Spain. Both men were executed in a chilling hit just moments after watching the Champions League final last Saturday night while on a golfing holiday with twelve buddies. Sources say Monaghan had become a key decision-maker in the Lyons operation, wielding major influence over its drugs operations from his base on the Costa, and was even seen by some as more powerful than figurehead Steven Lyons. He also allegedly acted as a liaison with Ireland's feared Kinahan cartel, forging ties with the notorious Dublin-based outfit that has been linked to multiple murders and a multimillion pound drug empire. Insiders now claim Monaghan had become such a prominent figure that rival gangs viewed him as a top-level target, with one English-linked syndicate reportedly warning of a £250,000 hit being planned in the weeks leading up to his death. 'Eddie's brother Steven is often seen as boss of the Lyons gang but, in reality, Ross Monaghan was on an equal footing,' one source told the Scottish Sun. 'He sometimes made more big decisions to the point some joked it should be called the Monaghan gang instead of the Lyons.' Authorities believe the hitman knew exactly who he was going after, cornering Monaghan inside his own bar after first shooting Lyons in the street outside. CCTV footage released earlier this week by Spanish police shows the moment that a desperate Monaghan attempts to crawl away to safety, with a deathly red stain seeping across his otherwise pristine white T-shirt. Police in Spain are reportedly aware of the suspected gunman's identity but have not confirmed which crew ordered the hit. One theory is that the execution stemmed from an unpaid debt involving a rival Spanish cartel with links to England. Despite speculation linking the murders to ongoing feuds in Scotland, including the decades-long war between the Lyons and Daniels gangs, Police Scotland has denied any intelligence suggesting the killings were ordered from the UK. 'There is currently no evidence connecting the Fuengirola shootings to recent violence in Scotland,' a spokesperson said. 'We are assisting Spanish authorities as required.' Monaghan, once cleared in the high-profile 2010 murder of Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll in Glasgow, had previously survived a 2017 assassination attempt while dropping off his child at school. Former Scottish crime chief Graeme Pearson said Monaghan's ability to survive and stay one step ahead of rivals had cemented his status in the gangland world. ''His group became known for extreme violence. Being acquitted from a murder trial through lack of evidence proved his bottle to the gang. 'Then he was shot and survived. It was part of his criminal CV. But people like Monaghan make enemies everywhere.' Both Monaghan and Lyons were acquitted in a 2017 street assault case and had since relocated to Spain — a region increasingly dominated by organised crime groups from across Europe. The murders come amid rising gangland violence on the Costa del Sol, with at least four shootings reported in April alone. Just weeks ago, a British man from Liverpool was shot dead in nearby Calahonda in another suspected drug feud. Meanwhile, the long-running war between the Lyons and Daniels clans in Glasgow and Edinburgh continues, with firebombings and brutal beatings allegedly linked to stolen cocaine shipments worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. Some reports suggest the Lyons may have aligned with Dubai-based kingpin Ross 'Miami' McGill, an alleged rival of Daniels associate Mark Richardson. Social media videos have even surfaced showing apparent revenge attacks fuelling fears of further bloodshed. But sources close to the Monaghan family insist the Daniels were not responsible for last week's killings, suggesting a new, more sinister force may be emerging within Spain's lucrative underworld. The brutal daylight assassinations have also sparked outrage among local residents. British expats in Fuengirola held a protest on Friday, demanding a crackdown on organised crime and greater police presence on the streets. Monaghan's bar, which markets itself as a 'family-friendly sports bar' opposite one of the town's most popular beaches, remains closed as the investigation continues.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
Drug kingpin gunned down in Costa del Sol pub 'had £250k bounty placed on his head by Spanish cartel linked to English gang' as police reveal they know potential identity of double assassin
A drugs kingpin gunned down in a Costa del Sol pub had a £250,000 bounty on his head over a feud with a Spanish cartel, it has been claimed. Ross Monaghan, 43, was shot dead alongside Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46, in a planned hit on Saturday at Monaghans in Fuengirola. Both were senior figures in Glasgow's feared Lyons crime family. Police are said to know the possible identity of the gunman, but have not yet worked out who hired them. However, the suggestion that a rival gang from Spain wanted Monaghan dead is the first sign of a possible motive. Reports suggest the grudge may have been the result of an unpaid debt. A gang from England with connections to Spain had reportedly warned about the contract on his life shortly before he was gunned down. 'A firm from England with connections to Alicante had warned of a £250,000 contract on Monaghan weeks before the shooting,' a source told The Sun. 'It's not clear if that information found its way to Monaghan but he must have known something was brewing because it was related to debts. 'People are shocked at how complacent he seems to have been and there is no doubt the shooter benefited from the element of surprise that night.' The assassinations of two Lyons family kingpins prompted fears that their deadly rivals, the Daniels, were behind the hit. The two crime families have been locked in a bloody feud that has seen a series of tit-for-tat killings over more than two decades. Saturday's hit coincides with an ongoing gang war in Edinburgh and Glasgow that has seen scores of firebombings and beatings - apparently targeting the Daniels and their associate, Mark Richardson. However, Police Scotland said in a statement earlier this week that there was 'no evidence' the Spain shootings had been ordered in Scotland or were linked to the recent unrest there. And yesterday, one of Monaghan's relatives reportedly came forward to insist the Daniels were not behind the killings. Lyons Jnr's death came just weeks after his teenage daughter died from an illness, the relative revealed. Spanish police continue to hunt the gunman responsible for Saturday's shootings. After executing Lyons Jnr on the street outside, the killer ran in and cornered Monaghan before shooting him in the chest and stomach at close range. Monaghan - who is believed to have owned the pub, named Monaghans - tried to escape by running to the bathroom. But horrific CCTV shows him stumbling as he turns to face his killer, who calmly pulls the trigger four times. It comes at a time of high tension in Edinburgh and Glasgow, which have seen dozens of violent incidents linked to an ongoing gang dispute. Reports have suggested the war erupted after Richardson's associates stole a £500,000 stash of cocaine from an ambitious Dubai-based kingpin known as Ross 'Miami' McGill. The Lyons are now said to be supporting McGill in his war on Richardson and his close associate Steven 'Bonzo' Daniel. The dispute has even made its way onto social media, where one video showed a series of attacks on targets associated with Mark Richardson to the tune of Martha Reeves' and the Vandellas hit 'Nowhere to run'. Numerous reports have suggested the Costa del Sol shootings are directly linked to the ongoing unrest in Edinburgh and Glasgow. But this has been denied by police, who said there is 'no intelligence to suggest' this was the case. A Police Scotland spokesperson added: 'Police Scotland is supporting Spanish police where requested, however, at this time we have no officers deployed within Spain. 'There is currently no intelligence to suggest the deaths of these two men in Spain are linked to the recent criminal attacks in Scotland being investigated as part of Operation Portaledge. 'Any misinformation or speculation linking the events in Spain are not helpful to the ongoing investigations in either country. 'There is also nothing to suggest that the shooting in Fuengirola was planned from within Scotland.' Yesterday's intervention by the Monaghan family suggests the Daniels are wary of being blamed for Saturday's killings. Their long-lasting war with the Lyons reportedly began when Lyons associates allegedly stole a £20,000 cocaine stash belonging to them. Five years later, gunmen James McDonald and Raymond Anderson walked into Applerow Motors in Lambhill, north Glasgow - owned by David Lyons - and opened fire in retaliation. David's nephew Michael Lyons, 21, was killed, while Steven Lyons - Eddie Jnr's brother - was shot in the leg and back. Robert Pickett was left in a coma and lost a kidney. Dozens of tit for tat shootings and killings have happened in the years since. Monaghan himself was a suspect in the 2010 murder of Daniels member Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll in the car park of a Glasgow Asda. He was charged over the shooting but the case was later dropped. In August 2017, Monaghan and Lyons Jr were cleared of being involved in a brutal street attack on three men outside the Campsie bar in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire. Monaghan later fled to Spain after being shot in the shoulder while dropping his child off at a Glasgow primary school that same year. Monaghans, the pub where Saturday's shooting happened, describes itself online as a place 'where you can relax and spend the day enjoying great home cooked meals on a sunny terrace and watch live sporting events.' It also bills itself as a 'family friendly sports bar and restaurant located in Torreblanca, Fuengirola opposite one of the area's most popular beaches.' Torreblanca is to the east of Fuengirola town centre and a stone's throw from an area called Los Boliches. Saturday murders follow the fatal shooting nearly six weeks ago of a 32-year-old British man in nearby Calahonda a 15-minute drive from the Irish bar towards Marbella. He was shot dead around 8pm on April 21 in a professional hit as he headed back to his car after finishing a football match with friends. The killers fled in a getaway car that was later torched. Police are investigating the brutal assassination as a drug-related gang shooting but have yet to make any arrests. The victim has not been named but was known to come from Liverpool. Reports at the time described the incident as the fourth shooting so far that month on the Costa del Sol, where rival gangs have increasingly used extreme violence to settle disputes and a number of international mafias are known to have a base. Four days before the Calahonda shooting a 34-year-old man was rushed to the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella after being shot outside a nightclub in the famous Costa del Sol resort.
