One of Scotland’s most high-profile gangland figures has been paraded by police in Bali after being arrested at an airport immigration checkpoint.
Steven Lyons was taken into custody on Saturday, shortly after he arrived at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on a flight from Singapore.
The Ngurah Rai Immigration Office confirmed the 45-year-old – whom it referred to only by his initials SL – was arrested following an Interpol alert.
The request for Lyons’ arrest is believed to have come via Spain’s Guardia Civil. BBC Scotland News understands he is now expected to be extradited to Spain.
Steven Lyons is the head of the Lyons clan, which was originally based in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire.
It has been involved in a bloody feud with the rival Glasgow-based Daniel group for more than 20 years.
It was reported earlier this month that Lyons had been arrested in Bahrain – five months after being released from custody in Dubai.
But in the weeks that followed details of his whereabouts were shrouded in mystery – until he stepped off a flight in Bali.
In a statement, the Ngurah Rai Immigration Office said: “Based on intelligence data, SL is strongly suspected of being the leader of an international criminal organisation.
“He is suspected of being the mastermind behind the operation of several fictitious companies and of being involved in money laundering.”
Bugie Kurniawan, head of the office, said the arrest served as a message that the Indonesian island “will never be a safe haven for international fugitives”.
And Felucia Sengky Ratna, head of the Regional Office of the Directorate General of Immigration Bali, said: “This achievement demonstrates that immigration surveillance in Bali is effective, integrated, and responsive to transnational threats.”
After being stopped in the international arrivals area, Lyons – who was wearing a t-shirt, shorts and carrying a rucksack – was handed over to I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport Area Resort Police.
He is currently being held at the airport’s detention centre.
On Saturday, 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.”
It is understood the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has not been approached by Lyons or anyone connected to him.
In 2006 Steven Lyons survived a shooting at a garage in Lambhill, in the north of Glasgow, which claimed the life of his cousin, Michael Lyons.
He later moved to Spain before settling in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Lyons’ criminal alliances include ties to the Dubai-based Kinahan crime group.
He is understood to have forged a relationship with founder Christy’s son, former boxing promoter Daniel Kinahan, while living in the Costa del Sol.
Stephen Dempster, Producer of Kinahan: The True Story of Ireland’s Mafia, previously told BBC Scotland’s Scotcast that by the mid-2010s the Lyons group had become bigger and wealthier by tapping into the cartel’s global network.
A double funeral was held for Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan after they were shot dead in a bar in Spain last May
Last May, Steven Lyons’ brother, Eddie Lyons Jnr, and Ross Monaghan were shot dead in a beachfront bar in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol.
Both men had spent the evening watching the Champions League final before they were targeted by a lone gunman.
Michael Riley, 44, from Liverpool, has been accused by Spanish police of the murders.
He had challenged an extradition bid but the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed in October that he had given his consent to be taken to Spain to face prosecution.
In the days after the double shooting a Spanish National Police detective said the suspect was a member of the rival Daniel gang.
But Police Scotland have maintained there is nothing to suggest the murders in Spain are linked to the ongoing gang war or that it was planned in Scotland.
Eight people were arrested in Scotland during the pre-dawn raids on Friday
On Friday, the joint Scottish-Spanish operation targeted properties in Bellshill, Glasgow, Gartcosh, Whitburn, Caldercruix, Cumbernauld, Coatbridge, Barcelona and in the Malaga area.
Officers made eight arrests in Scotland and five in Spain.
Det Ch Insp George Calder told BBC Scotland News the investigation was probing alleged high-level involvement in organised crime, drugs and money laundering.
He added: “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.”
Police Scotland said the inquiry pre-dated last year’s gangland feud in central Scotland which resulted in a series of assaults, shootings and firebombings.
A number of properties were set alight in Edinburgh and the surrounding areas in March before the attacks spread to the west at the beginning of April.
The force launched Operation Portaledge in response and it has so far resulted in more than 60 arrests.
On Friday, Scottish and Spanish officers were supported by colleagues from Europol and officers in the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
Officers in Turkey seized two plots of land and a villa estimated to be worth about €600,000 (£520,000), as well as shares in a company.
Europol said statements had also been taken from four Turkish citizens as witnesses.
@ BBC
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