Detectives seize 200 photos of score-settling beatings and mutilations linked to Lyons gang

Spanish detectives have seized 200 photos of score-settling beatings and mutilations during their operation targeting Glasgow’s Lyons gang.

The Guardia Civil discovered the haul during a search of an apartment, which is believed to be a key meeting place for the Scottish criminal organisation in Fuengirola on March 27.

Some of the images show a man with a bruised face, another with cuts to his face. Other pictures show a man’s arm impaled by a fence and remains in a machine.

In a joint operation involving law enforcement agencies across the globe, including Police Scotland, homes in Scotland and Spain were raided.

The Guardia Civil raided homes in Malaga and Barcelona Guardia Civil

Seven alleged members of the group were arrested in Malaga in connection with organised crime and money laundering related to drug trafficking.

Nine men have already appeared in Scottish courts in connection with the major investigation.

Gang leader Steven Lyons was detained in Indonesia and extradited to Amsterdam, where he is set for a surrender hearing.

The 45-year-old kingpin arrived on the Costa Del Sol after an attempted assassination outside a Glasgow garage, which resulted in the death of his cousin Michael Lyons in 2006.

Investigators believe other members of the group arrived in Spain where they posed as businessmen with beverage import businesses, car rentals or managing entertainment venues.

Lyons would later move to Dubai, where detectives say he continued to run the now-international criminal organisation, including a money laundering scheme worth around 50 million Euros.

His partner, Amanda Lyons, was arrested by UAE authorities at the international airport of Dubai as part of the operation. Her sister Rebecca Hayes and a man named Dean McFeely have also been detained.

Kinahan ‘banker’ arrest led to operation targeting Lyons gang

The operation targeting the Lyons’ alleged money laundering operation came in the wake of a Spanish-led investigation into Irish gang the Kinahans, who are believed to have close links with the Glasgow-based group.

Operation Whitewall resulted in the arrest of John Morrissey in September 2022, who has been described as the Kinahan “banker”.

Morrissey is believed to have created a vodka brand called Nero, which the Kinahans are believed to funnel dirty money through.

The alleged head of the Irish gang, Daniel Kinahan, has also been arrested in Dubai on an arrest warrant issued by the courts in Ireland in connection with serious organised crime

Daniel Kinahan was arrested in Dubai DEA

After gathering information from encrypted platforms such as Encrochat and Sky ECC, detectives have found references to similar drinks companies linked to the Lyons, including three import businesses.

Through the secretive conversations, police also learned that the crime boss allegedly moved trucks of cash into the UK and of drug raids linked to the gang.