Spanish police say they have “dismantled a criminal drugs gang" allegedly ‘led by members of the Lyons family’.
The country’s Civil Guard issued a statement confirming that notorious Scottish gangland figure Steven Lyons had been arrested in the Netherlands after being deported from Bali on Tuesday, April 7.
The 45-year-old, from Glasgow, was detained on the Indonesian resort island on March 28, shortly after arriving on a flight from Singapore.
He was flagged by Bali’s immigration system based on an Interpol Red Notice, which was issued on behalf of Spain.
Lyons was detained on the same day that his partner, Amanda, was arrested in Dubai.
The Civil Guard has now said that the Lyons ‘organisation’ in Spain has been taken apart, with 14 arrests in four countries and 20 other people under investigation, BBC Scotland reports.
A spokesperson for the force told BBC Scotland that they expect Lyons to arrive in Spain in two to three weeks.
Though it could take longer than that if he opposes extradition.
The statement went on to add that the arrests formed part of Operation Armorum, which has also seen cops in Turkey locate and freeze high-value assets reportedly linked to the Lyons network.
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The Civil Guard is one of Spain’s two national police agencies and operates as a parliamentary organisation dealing with high-level security and serious crime.
It stated that the Lyons ‘operation’ involved 18 raids in the past week, mostly taking place in the Costa Del Sol and Barcelona.
Electronic devices, large amounts of cash, company documents, high-end watches, and cryptocurrency wallets were allegedly seized.
This follows a three-year-long investigation in collaboration with Police Scotland.
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The statement further alleges that the Lyons group ‘developed a criminal network’ in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, with “a complex money laundering network based on shell companies and international financial transactions, managing millions of euros derived from drug trafficking”.
It added: "Its ability to operate simultaneously in several countries - including Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey - and to forge alliances with other major criminal networks, solidified the clan's position as one of the most significant players in contemporary European organised crime."
In a release confirming the move, the local Ngurah Rai Immigration Office described him as a "mafia boss and Interpol fugitive".
Bugie Kurniawan, head of the office, said: "We will not allow Indonesian territory, especially Bali, to become a haven or base of operations for international criminals."
The Lyons crime group is considered one of Scotland’s most dominant organised crime networks and has been embroiled in a violent feud with the rival Daniel clan for more than two decades.
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