Scottish gangland boss deported from Bali to Amsterdam

One of Scotland's most high-profile gangland figures has been deported to Amsterdam, 10 days after his airport arrest in Bali.

Steven Lyons was escorted onto a flight in Jakarta on Tuesday by officers from Spain's Guardia Civil.

The move comes after Lyons, 45, was taken into custody on 28 March, shortly after he arrived at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on a flight from Singapore.

The following day Lyons was photographed, with his hands bound by cable ties, being led from police headquarters wearing bright orange overalls and a black face mask.

The Ngurah Rai Immigration Office, together with the NCB Secretariat of Interpol Indonesia, confirmed Lyons was flown from Denpasar to Jakarta on Tuesday.

He then boarded a flight from the Indonesian capital to Schiphol, which landed shortly after 10:30 BST.

In a release confirming the move the Ngurah Rai Immigration Office described him as a "mafia boss and Interpol fugitive".

Bugie Kurniawan, head of the office, said: "This deportation is a concrete step in our commitment to safeguarding national sovereignty.

"We will not allow Indonesian territory, especially Bali, to become a haven or base of operations for international criminals.

"Strict immigration oversight is the front line in safeguarding national security from potential foreign threats."

Bali police chief Daniel Adityajaya previously told reporters Lyons was alleged to be the leader of "a large-scale transnational criminal organisation engaged in drug trafficking and money laundering".

Untung Widyatmoko, secretary of Interpol's Indonesia bureau, said his criminal group operated in countries including Spain, Scotland, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Turkey.

Lyons and his wife are both wanted by the authorities in Spain.

The couple previously lived in the country before moving to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Their arrests came the day after a joint Scottish-Spanish operation targeted alleged members of the Lyons crime group in a series of simultaneous raids in Bellshill, Glasgow, Gartcosh, Whitburn, Caldercruix, Cumbernauld, Coatbridge, Barcelona and the Malaga area.

Steven Lyons is the head of the Lyons clan, which has been involved in a bloody feud with the rival Daniel group for more than 20 years.

But in the weeks that followed, details of his whereabouts were shrouded in mystery - until he stepped off a flight in Indonesia.

After being stopped in the international arrivals area, Lyons was handed over to I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport Area Resort Police.

It later emerged two associates, Stephen Larwood and an unnamed man, arrived on the same flight as Lyons but managed to evade detection at the airport.

Larwood was previously arrested in the same Dubai operation that targeted Lyons.

The pair were released in October and told to leave the Gulf state with immediate effect.

Police in Bali said Larwood and the unnamed associate were not listed on the red notice but were both believed to be members of the Lyons crime group.

There has been no update on their whereabouts.

In a statement following Lyons' arrest in Bali, 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."

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."

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.

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.

The raids in the early hours of 27 March resulted in eight arrests in Scotland and five in Spain.

Seven face drug charges while one was charged with conspiracy and assault.

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.