On a warm evening last June in Fuengirola on Spain’s Costa del Sol, two Scottish men were violently killed in a public bar, marking a grim milestone in one of Scotland’s most notorious gangland feuds. Eddie Lyons Jr, 46, was shot at close range by a masked gunman, who then attempted to kill Ross Monaghan, 43, the bar’s owner and Lyons’ friend. Monaghan was shot multiple times while trying to escape inside the bar. This double assassination was the latest chapter in a brutal 25-year conflict between two Glasgow crime families: the Lyons and the Daniels.
The Feud’s Violent History
The origins of this feud date back to 2001 when a £20,000 drug stash belonging to the Daniel clan was stolen by associates of the Lyons family, including Eddie Lyons Jr and Ross Monaghan. Jamie Daniel, the Daniels’ patriarch, was a feared figure in Glasgow’s criminal underworld, known for his ruthlessness and involvement in violent crimes, including an unsolved sniper murder of a rival dealer.
Violence escalated over the years, with the city earning the grim label of the UK’s murder capital around 2005. Kevin “Gerbil” Carroll, Jamie Daniel’s volatile son-in-law and enforcer, became infamous for his brutal tactics, including kidnappings and torture. The feud crossed a chilling line in 2006 when Daniel hitmen killed 21-year-old Michael Lyons in a daylight ambush, an act described by a judge as a “cold-blooded, premeditated execution.”
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In 2010, Gerbil himself was assassinated in a public car park, shot 13 times in a brazen attack that sent shockwaves through the criminal community. The killing intensified the rivalry, with the Lyons family’s Steven Lyons taking over operations abroad, particularly in Spain.
Changing Leadership and New Dynamics
After Jamie Daniel’s death in 2016, leadership passed to his nephew Steven “Bonzo” Daniel, who survived a brutal machete attack in 2017 that left him severely disfigured. Meanwhile, the Lyons family expanded their operations internationally, forging alliances with Ireland’s Kinahan cartel through associates like Ross “Miami” McGill, a former football fan turned gang leader.
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The feud took on a modern twist as younger gang members used social media platforms like TikTok to mock rivals and broadcast threats, blending criminal violence with online bravado. Groups aligned with both families engaged in public displays of intimidation, including filmed attacks and firebombings.
Police Intervention and a Shift in Violence
Police Scotland reported a significant reduction in violent incidents after a particularly intense six-month period marked by attacks across Scotland. Authorities attribute this lull to multiple factors, including internal resolutions within the organised crime community and increased law enforcement pressure.
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Between March and June 2020, a major breakthrough came when European police infiltrated EncroChat, an encrypted communication network used by criminals worldwide. This operation led to thousands of arrests, including key figures in Scotland’s gangland scene. Evidence from EncroChat played a crucial role in the arrest of Steven Lyons, his wife, and other associates earlier this year, delivering a major blow to the Lyons gang.
Former Police Scotland superintendent Martin Gallagher described these arrests and the recent killings as a “decapitation” of the Lyons organisation. He noted that while overt violence has decreased, criminal activity continues, with gangs focusing more on drug importation rather than public acts of violence.
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What Lies Ahead?
Despite the apparent cooling of hostilities, experts caution that organised crime remains lucrative and resilient. Graeme Pearson, a former police officer and Labour MSP, emphasized that the drug trade’s profitability ensures ongoing criminal enterprise, even if the violent feud appears to be winding down.
Recent police actions, such as the seizure of £1.7 million worth of cocaine near Glasgow, underscore that while the gangland war may be abating, the underlying criminal networks persist. The shift from violent confrontations to more covert operations suggests a new phase in Scotland’s organised crime landscape.
Whether this marks a permanent end to one of Glasgow’s bloodiest chapters remains uncertain. However, the combination of law enforcement breakthroughs and strategic changes within the gangs offers a cautious hope that the city’s long and gruesome gangland feud might finally be drawing to a close.
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