More than a month after being shot in a Spanish pub, two big crime figures were laid to rest together.
On May 31st, Eddie Lyons Jr. and Ross Monaghan were killed down in a pub in Fuengirola, Costa del Sol.
A lone shooter ambushed both men, who had spent the evening watching the Champions League final, just before midnight.
Michael Riley, 44, of Liverpool, has been charged with the murders by Spanish police, and a full extradition hearing is expected for later this year.
Today, Friday July 4th, hundreds of mourners gathered at Bishopbriggs Crematorium in East Dunbartonshire to pay their respects to Lyons Jr., 46, and Monaghan, 43.
Two silver hearses carried the coffins, which were decorated with floral tributes reading “Dad” and “Son”.
Both individuals were tied to the Lyons crime syndicate, which operates in the west of Scotland.
It has been embroiled in a violent feud with the Daniel family and their associates for over two decades.
Eighteen years ago, Daniel clan enforcer Kevin “Gerbil” Carroll ambushed Lyons Jr. in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, in an attempt to assassinate him.
It followed an episode that was largely regarded as escalating the animosity with the Daniel family.
Carroll allegedly used a 4×4 and a tow rope in November 2006 to overturn Eddie Jnr’s brother Garry’s gravestone, who died of leukaemia at the age of eight in 1991.
The following month, two men in a blue Mazda drove up to a garage in Lambhill, north of Glasgow.
Raymond Anderson and James McDonald disguised themselves as old men and entered Applerow Motors, where they opened fire.
The owner, David Lyons, took cover, but his 21-year-old nephew, Michael, Eddie Jnr’s cousin, was fatally shot.
Eddie’s brother, Steven, was hurt, as was his associate Robert Pickett.
On January 13th, 2010, during lunchtime, an Asda in Robroyston, Glasgow, shot and killed Carroll, adding to the feud’s victims.
Mongahan was arrested over the murder in August 2010 but he was acquitted in May 2012 after a judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to convict him.
Less than five years later, he was shot in the shoulder outside a Glasgow primary school after dropping his child off.
The gunman was pushing a child’s buggy when he opened fire on Muirdykes Road near St George’s Primary, Penilee.
Two associates of the Daniel group were both cleared of the attack at a trial but were later convicted for other organised crime offences.
Monaghan is believed to have moved to Spain soon after the school shooting.
It was reported that he owned the Costa del Sol bar, bearing his name, where he and Lyons Jnr were killed.
It has since reopened under a new name.
The double murder follows a wave of gangland violence in Scotland since March.
It has resulted in a series of assaults, shootings and firebombings against individuals linked to the Daniel group in the east and west of the country.
Detectives working on Operation Portaledge, set up in response to the violence, have so far made 50 arrests.
Police Scotland has maintained it has no evidence the double murder is linked to the feud, despite conflicting claims by a senior Spanish officer.
Chief Supt Pedro Agudo Novo last month confirmed Lyons and Monaghan were killed within seconds of each other by a lone gunman who fled the scene on foot.
According to the officer, the suspect’s gun jammed after he killed Lyons Jnr with a single shot outside the bar.
He then pursued Monaghan inside and fired two more shots which proved fatal.
Chief Supt Agudo Novo last month highlighted the “professionalism” of the shootings and the suspect’s “perfectly planned” escape from Spain.
He also alleged that the killer was a member of the Daniel crime group.
BBC Scotland News understands that investigators in Spain and in Scotland were surprised by Chief Supt Agudo Novo’s public statement.
International arrest warrant
The position of Scottish detectives is that there is “no current evidence” linking the shootings to the Daniel group.
In response to Chief Supt Novo’s comments, Police Scotland repeated the carefully worded statement they issued three days after the murders.
And last week Chief Constable Jo Farrell said the force “wasn’t aware” of any evidence the murders were linked to the feud, or had been planned from Scotland.
Michael Riley, of Huyton, was arrested on an international arrest warrant in the Liverpool area on 13th June in connection with the shootings.
On 20 June, Mr Riley appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London.
Asked by the court clerk if he wished to give his consent to be extradited back to Spain, he replied: “No, I do not.”
Mr Riley, who was remanded in custody, will return to court in October for an extradition hearing.
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