Scots cops deny Spanish force claims of ‘Daniel clan link' to Monaghan and Lyons murders

Spanish top brass insist the suspect in the double killing is 'an internal member of the rival Daniels gang'
AT ODDS SQUADS Scots cops deny Spanish force claims of 'Daniel clan link' to Monaghan and Lyons murders
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
SCOTTISH cops are standing by their assertion the murders of Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr are unconnected to gangland violence here - hours after Spanish investigators said the opposite.
Police Scotland issued a statement hours after a press conference in Malaga during which top brass insisted the suspect in the double killing is "an internal member of the rival Daniels gang".
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
4
The moment caught on CCTV a shooter storms Monaghans bar in Fuengirola.
4
Murdered crime clan duo Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan.
The stunning claims made this morning by investigators in Spain appeared to be in direct conflict with an earlier statement by Scots cops that they had 'no intelligence" to indicate the plot was hatched here.
The murders of the two Lyons gang kingpins in Monaghan's Bar, Fuengirola, on Saturday, May 31, came after months of gangland violence across Scotland's two biggest cities.
The chaos has been blamed by underworld sources on Dubai-based Ross 'Miami' McGill whose group Tamu Junto has claimed responsibility for targeting associates of caged Edinburgh kingpin Mark Richardson, 38, and members of the Daniel crime family.
That resulted in fears the brutal assassinations of Monaghan, 43, and Lyons, 46, was an act of retaliation by mobsters with Daniel clan connections.
But we told how Police Scotland and a relatives of Monaghan had ruled out that theory amid claims the execution was carried out by another mob not connected to Scotland.
In a statement issued this evening, Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston said : "We have been assisting Spanish colleagues with their investigation into the fatal shootings in Fuengirola.
"We are not aware of any current evidence which suggests the deaths of these two men in Spain are linked to the recent criminal attacks in Scotland being investigated as part of Operation Portaledge.
"We are aware of the statement from the Spanish Police and although we cannot comment on an ongoing investigation in another jurisdiction, our position remains that we have no current evidence to suggest that this incident was orchestrated from Scotland.
"We are aware of the arrest of an individual in the Merseyside area and will continue to support colleagues in Spain where necessary and if required by them. "
However, Spanish investigators today stated with some conviction a Daniel clan associate was their number one suspect.
We told earlier how Mr Pedro Agudo Novo - head of the provincial Judicial Police unit - said: 'The double murder was carried out by a professional killer and member of one of the victims' rival gangs.
'In this case we're not talking about an independent hired killer but an internal member of the rival Daniels gang who ends up assassinating two members of an enemy gang."
The Scottish Sun then put those comments to Police Scotland who today stood firmly behind their earlier stance that the killings are not the work of a Scots-based mob.
We told how suspect Michael Riley, 44, from Merseyside, was arrested in Liverpool on Friday before appearing at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday.
Ross Monaghan - From Glasgow street thug to running with Global cartel bosses
The double-murder suspect was remanded in custody during the brief hearing.
Lawyers acting for Riley didn't make a bail application ahead of a second court date on Thursday when the alleged hitman is due to appear via video link.
The court heard Riley was 'likely to abscond' if given his liberty while facing such grave allegations.
The serious nature of the offences he faces was noted in the decision to remand Riley who is the subject of an extradition warrant by Spanish authorities over the murders of the Scots duo.
Career criminal Monaghan - who fled Scotland for Spain after a failed attempt on his life in 2017 - was tried but acquitted over the murder of notorious Glasgow hood Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll at an Asda car park in 2010.
In August 2017 he and Eddie Lyons Jr, both members of the Lyons Glasgow crime family, were cleared of being involved in a brutal street attack on three men outside the Campsie bar in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire.
4
Associates of caged mob boss Mark Richardson have been under attack since March.
4
Ross 'Miami' McGill has been waging a gang war over claims of a drug deal con.
Their deaths come amid an ongoing turf war in Scotland that's resulted in 45 arrests as part of Police Scotland's Operation Portaledge.
Dubai-based former Union Bear McGill, 31, of East Kilbride, is said to have launched the campaign of violence after he was ripped off by associates of Richardson who used fake notes in a £500,000 cocaine deal.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Independent

27 minutes ago

• The Independent

Cannabis plants worth £7m seized by police in raid at former college campus

Police have seized cannabis plants worth an estimated £7 million after carrying out a raid at a derelict former college, the highest value cultivation of the drug ever found. Nairn Campus in Kirkcaldy, Fife, was once part of a 7.65-acre site owned by Fife College, however it closed in 2016 and was sub-divided. The derelict building on High Street was found to be a cannabis farm, with 5,000 plants, during a search by officers with a warrant at around 12.40pm on Wednesday. Police Scotland said inquiries are ongoing. Officers said the previous highest value cannabis cultivation was one worth up to £6.3 million which was found in a property on Kirkcaldy's High Street in May 2022, with a man later appearing in court in connection with the find. Sergeant Johny Lister said: 'This is a very significant recovery and is an example of our efforts to disrupt the activity of illegal drugs in Scotland. 'Drugs cause misery in our communities. 'This recovery also underlines our commitment to the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce and the country's Serious Organised Crime Strategy. 'The public has an important role to play in helping Police Scotland target those responsible for the cultivation, supply and sale of illegal substances. 'Anyone with any information or concerns about drugs in their community can call Police Scotland on 101, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.'

Leader Live

34 minutes ago

• Leader Live

Nigerian communities set to have oil pollution High Court claims tried in 2027

Members of the Bille and Ogale communities in the Niger Delta, which have a combined population of around 50,000, are suing Shell plc and a Nigerian-based subsidiary of the company, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, which is now the Renaissance Africa Energy Company. The two communities began legal action in 2015, claiming they have suffered systemic and ongoing oil pollution for years due to the companies' operations in the African country, including pollution of drinking water. They are seeking compensation and asking for the companies to clean up the damage caused by the spills. The companies are defending the claims, saying that the majority of spills are caused by criminal acts of third parties or illegal oil refining, for which they are not liable. On Friday, Mrs Justice May ruled on more than 20 preliminary issues in the claims, following a hearing held in London over four weeks in February and March. She said that 'some 85 spills have, so far, been identified', but added that the case was 'still at a very early stage'. Her findings included that Shell could be sued for damage from pipeline spills caused by third parties, such as vandals, in efforts to steal oil, a process known as bunkering. She also said that while there was a five-year limitation period on bringing legal claims, a 'new cause of action will arise each day that oil remains' on land affected by the spills. The cases are due to be tried over four months, starting in March 2027. Reacting to the ruling, the leader of the Ogale community, King Bebe Okpabi, said: 'It has been 10 years now since we started this case, we hope that now Shell will stop these shenanigans and sit down with us to sort this out. 'People in Ogale are dying; Shell need to bring a remedy. 'We thank the judicial system of the UK for this judgment.' Matthew Renishaw, international development partner at law firm Leigh Day, which represents the claimants, said: 'This outcome opens the door to Shell being held responsible for their legacy pollution as well as their negligence in failing to take reasonable steps to prevent pollution from oil theft or local refining.' He continued: 'Our clients reiterate, as they have repeatedly for 10 years, that they simply want Shell to clean up their pollution and compensate them for their loss of livelihood. 'It is high time that Shell stop their legal filibuster and do the right thing.' A Shell spokesperson said that the company welcomed the judgment. They said: 'For many years, the vast majority of spills in the Niger Delta have been caused by third parties acting unlawfully, such as oil thieves who drill holes in pipelines, or saboteurs. 'This criminality is the cause of the majority of spills in the Bille and Ogale claims, and we maintain that Shell is not liable for the criminal acts of third parties or illegal refining. 'These challenges are managed by a joint venture which Shell's former subsidiary operated, using its expertise in spill response and clean-up. 'The spills referenced in this litigation were cleaned up by the joint venture regardless of the cause, as required by Nigerian law, working closely with government-owned partner NNPC Ltd, Nigerian government agencies and local communities. 'Clean-up certificates were issued by the Nigerian regulator NOSDRA.' The High Court and the Court of Appeal ruled in 2017 and 2018, respectively, that there was no arguable case that Shell owed the claimants a duty of care, but the Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that there was a 'real issue to be tried'.

BBC News

34 minutes ago

• BBC News

Promes extradited to Netherlands to serve prison sentence

Former Ajax winger Quincy Promes has been extradited to the Netherlands, where he will serve a seven-and-a-half year prison sentence for drug trafficking and aggravated assault. The 33-year-old was arrested in Dubai last week following a request by the Dutch capped 50 times for the Netherlands, was sentenced to six years in jail in February 2024 for his part in smuggling more than a tonne of cocaine into the Netherlands from Belgium in 2020. He had previously been sentenced to 18 months in prison for stabbing his cousin in the knee at a family gathering in 2020 but is yet to serve any time in prison for either of the crimes. A spokesperson for the prosecutors has confirmed that the Dutchman has now returned to the Netherlands. Promes denies the charges and has filed appeals in both cases. Promes made his senior debut for Twente in 2009 and spent three years at the club before earning the first of his two stints with Russian side Spartak four years in the Russian capital, Promes joined Sevilla in La Liga but spent just one year in Spain before returning to the Netherlands with Ajax. He re-joined Spartak Moscow in 2021, spending a further three years in Russia before a move to Dubai United in first of Promes' 50 caps for the national side came in 2014, with the winger netting seven goals in that time. His last cap was in 2023. It is yet to be determined where Promes will serve his sentence in the Netherlands.