Scots mob boss Steven Lyons will be extradited to Spain imminently to face organised crime charges, a judge in the Netherlands has ruled. He appeared alongside an interpreter and three armed guards today.
Court Appearance in Amsterdam
The leader of the Lyons crime family appeared in a blue hoodie and jeans for the proceedings at Amsterdam District Court today. The 46-year-old, who sat next to an interpreter and was surrounded by three armed officers, was informed by the judge that he would be dispatched to Spain without delay.
Arne Kloosterman, his solicitor, had previously argued that Lyons' arrest and removal from Bali earlier this year resembled "a kidnapping". His legal team challenged his extradition to Spain and claimed the Spanish Guardia Civil's decision to transport him from Indonesia to the Netherlands exceeded Spain's powers and remit, reports the Daily Record.
Arrest and Detention
Lyons has been detained in a maximum-security facility alongside other infamous criminals since April. He was expelled from Dubai in September after UAE authorities investigated his connections to organised crime. He moved between nearby Gulf states before journeying to Bali at the end of March, where he was apprehended on an Interpol Red Notice. Indonesian police displayed him in an orange jumpsuit on the island. Subsequently, he was returned on a flight from Denpasar to Jakarta before being put on a flight to Amsterdam.
Police Operations
Spanish authorities have declared they've "smashed" the Lyons' operation following the apprehension of numerous gang associates. The Spanish Civil Guard utilised battering rams to gain access to several properties and businesses in a series of early morning raids on the Costa Del Sol. A total of 14 of Lyons' henchmen were detained across four countries, with 20 individuals still presently under investigation. These arrests were part of Operation Armorum, which also led to police in Turkey identifying and freezing high-value assets connected to the Lyons network.
Electronic gadgets, substantial sums of cash, business documents, luxury watches and cryptocurrency wallets were confiscated during the investigation. Concurrently, Police Scotland officers arrested eight men at addresses in Glasgow, Bellshill, Cumbernauld, Gartcosh, Caldercruix, Coatbridge and East Whitburn on 27 March. The men all faced court charged with a range of offences, including organised crime.
Money Laundering Allegations
Spanish detectives allege Lyons, who had reportedly been on Spain's wanted list for two years, laundered over approximately £26 million. Spanish police also conducted a raid on the pub in Spain where Lyons' brother Eddie Jnr and Ross Monaghan were murdered last year. The Fuengirola pub was one of the 18 locations targeted by the Civil Guard. The pub reopened under a new moniker, Irish Rovers, following the incident, which Spanish police have linked to a turf war between rival Glasgow gangs, the Daniel and Lyons clans.
Alleged hitman Michael Riley is currently being held at Teixeiro Prison in Spain's north-west region of Galicia after being arrested in Liverpool and extradited in June last year.
Family Members Arrested
Lyons' wife was also nabbed in the Middle East as part of the ongoing international investigation aimed at dismantling a drug trafficking network and the continuing turf war in Scotland. Amanda Lyons was arrested at Dubai Airport just days after her husband was taken into custody in Bali. She was detained by UAE officers after being flagged as a wanted individual by Interpol.
