One of Britain’s most high-profile gangland figures has been arrested in Bali just a few months after being released from custody in Dubai.
Steven Lyons, head of a dominant Scottish crime group, which was embroiled in a bloody over two-decade-long feud with the rival Daniel group, has been arrested by Indonesian police on behalf of Spanish authorities.
It comes after Scottish and Spanish police executed a series of raids on Friday after a two-year probe into serious organised crime.
With the help of the National Crime Agency (NCA), they targeted alleged members of the Lyons gang, leading to the arrests of 13 people.
Earlier this month, reports had emerged that Lyons had been arrested in Bahrain, only five months after being taken into custody in Dubai.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of the arrest of a Scottish nominal in Bali and we are working closely with European partners.’
The Lyons clan has several criminal links, including ties to the infamous Irish Kinahan crime group, which is currently based in Dubai.
Lyons is said to have built a relationship with the son of Kinahan’s founder Christy, boxing promoter Daniel, while he was based in the Costa del Sol.
Stephen Dempster, who produced Kinahan: The True Story of Ireland’s Mafia, said the clan had become larger and wealthier via their cartel friend’s global network.
Lyons’ cousin, Michael, was killed in a garage shooting in Lambhill, north Glasgow, in 2006; however, Steven managed to survive before moving to Spain and then Dubai.
In May 2025, his brother Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan were gunned down in a beachfront bar located in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol, while they were watching the Champions League final by a single gunman.
Spanish police have accused Michael Riley, from Liverpool, of the murders, however, the 44-year-old previously challenged his extradition.
Last October, the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that Riley had since given consent to be taken to Spain to face the accusations.
A Spanish detective previously said the suspect was a member of the Lyons rivals – the Daniel gang.
However, Police Scotland insisted there is no suggestion that the Costa Del Sol murders were connected to the ongoing gangland feud.
It also maintained that there was no suggestion that the crime was coordinated in Scotland.
Last Friday, a Scottish-Spanish operation was carried out on properties in Gartcosh, Whitburn, Caldercruix, Bellshill, Glasgow, Cumbernauld, Barcelona, and around the area of Malaga.
Eight arrests have been made in Scotland, while five people have been taken into custody in Spain.
Detective Chief Inspector George Calder said the operation was investigating alleged money laundering, drugs, and a high-level involvement in organised crime.
‘This day of action has been the result of over two years of investigative work that’s been carried out diligently carried out by officers not only here, but by other agencies, including the National Crime Agency and the Guardia Civil,’ he told BBC Scotland.
‘We have got a number of officers over in Spain, assisting the Spanish authorities with their inquiries.
‘We’re sharing intelligence, information and resources.’
It was also revealed that the operation was being backed by peers in Europol, officers in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and the Netherlands.
In Turkey, two plots of land and a villa – with an estimated worth of €600,000 (£520,000) – as well as shares in a company, were seized by local officers.
Statements were taken from four Turkish witnesses, according to Europol.
Police Scotland said their inquiry had begun before last year’s gang war in the central area of the country, which sparked several assaults, firebombings and shootings.
Between March and April last year, several properties in Edinburgh and its surrounding areas were set ablaze.
So far, there have been more than 60 arrests as a result of Operation Portaledge, which was launched by the local policing authority.
