The family of a drug kingpin murdered in a double shooting have spoken out to say their notorious gang rivals are not responsible, according to a bombshell new report.
Ross Monaghan, 43, and Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46, were shot dead by a masked gunman while they were watching Saturday’s Champions League final at an Irish pub on the Costa del Sol.
Both men are senior figures in the Glasgow-based Lyons gang, and the incident prompted fears that their deadly rivals, the Daniels, were behind the hit.
The two crime families have been locked in a bloody feud that has seen a series of tit-for-tat killings over more than two decades.
Saturday’s hit also coincides with an ongoing gang war in Edinburgh and Glasgow that has seen scores of firebombings and beatings – apparently targeting the Daniels and their associate, Mark Richardson.
However, Police Scotland said in a statement earlier this week that there was ‘no evidence’ the Spain shootings had been ordered in Scotland or were linked to the recent unrest there.
And now, a relative of Monaghan has appeared to absolve the Daniels of any blame for his and Lyons Jnr’s deaths – suggesting gang rivals based abroad could be responsible.
Ross Monaghan (left) and Eddie Lyons Jnr were shot dead by a masked gunman while they were watching Saturday’s Champions League final at Monaghans Irish pub in Fuengirola
Video broadcast on Spanish TV shows the gunman(centre) storm through the bar and take aim at Monaghan
The assassin (left) marches into Monaghans as a bystander (right) tries desperately to flee
‘The one thing people need to know is the Daniels are not behind this,’ The Sun reported one of Monaghan’s relatives as saying.
‘There are other theories about who is behind it, but the one thing we know for sure is it’s got nothing to do with the Daniels or Mark Richardson.’
Lyons Jnr’s death came just weeks after his teenage daughter died from an illness, the relative revealed.
Spanish police continue to hunt the gunman responsible for Saturday’s shootings.
After executing Lyons Jnr on the street outside, the killer ran in and cornered Monaghan before shooting him in the chest and stomach at close range.
Monaghan – who is believed to have owned the pub, named Monaghans – tried to escape by running to the bathroom.
But horrific CCTV shows him stumbling as he turns to face his killer, who calmly pulls the trigger four times.
It comes at a time of high tension in Edinburgh and Glasgow, which have seen dozens of violent incidents linked to an ongoing gang dispute.
Reports have suggested the war erupted after Richardson’s associates stole a £500,000 stash of cocaine from an ambitious Dubai-based kingpin known as Ross ‘Miami’ McGill.
Saturday’s shooting took place in front of terrified locals and tourists
The shootings come amid a vicious gang war that has seen a wave of firebombings terrorise communities in both Edinburgh and Glasgow
The Lyons are now said to be supporting McGill in his war on Richardson and his close associate Steven ‘Bonzo’ Daniel.
The dispute has even made its way onto social media, where one video showed a series of attacks on targets associated with Mark Richardson to the tune of Martha Reeves’ and the Vandellas hit ‘Nowhere to run’.
Numerous reports have suggested the Costa del Sol shootings are directly linked to the ongoing unrest in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
But this has been denied by police, who said there is ‘no intelligence to suggest’ this was the case.
A Police Scotland spokesperson added: ‘Police Scotland is supporting Spanish police where requested, however, at this time we have no officers deployed within Spain.
‘There is currently no intelligence to suggest the deaths of these two men in Spain are linked to the recent criminal attacks in Scotland being investigated as part of Operation Portaledge.
‘Any misinformation or speculation linking the events in Spain are not helpful to the ongoing investigations in either country.
‘There is also nothing to suggest that the shooting in Fuengirola was planned from within Scotland.’
While the details are murky, the recent attacks in Scotland are said to be targeting the criminal empire of cocaine trafficker Mark Richardson and his close associate Steven ‘Bonzo’ Daniel – both allies of the Daniels family
Bonzo Daniel still bears the scars from when the Lyons clan tried to slice his face off
Reports have suggested the feud erupted after Richardson’s associates stole a £500,000 stash of cocaine from an ambitious Dubai-based kingpin known as Ross ‘Miami’ McGill
Today’s intervention by the Monaghan family suggests the Daniels are wary of being blamed for Saturday’s killings.
Their long-lasting war with the Lyons reportedly began when Lyons associates allegedly stole a £20,000 cocaine stash belonging to them.
Five years later, gunmen James McDonald and Raymond Anderson walked into Applerow Motors in Lambhill, north Glasgow – owned by David Lyons – and opened fire in retaliation.
David’s nephew Michael Lyons, 21, was killed, while Steven Lyons – Eddie Jnr’s brother – was shot in the leg and back. Robert Pickett was left in a coma and lost a kidney.
Dozens of tit for tat shootings and killings have happened in the years since.
Monaghan himself was a suspect in the 2010 murder of Daniels member Kevin ‘Gerbil’ Carroll in the car park of a Glasgow Asda. He was charged over the shooting but the case was later dropped.
In August 2017, Monaghan and Lyons Jr were cleared of being involved in a brutal street attack on three men outside the Campsie bar in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire.
Monaghan later fled to Spain after being shot in the shoulder while dropping his child off at a Glasgow primary school that same year.
Numerous threats have been made against the Daniels and Richardsons on social media
Monaghans is located on the seafront and is a popular bar with tourists and expats
Monaghans, the pub where Saturday’s shooting happened, describes itself online as a place ‘where you can relax and spend the day enjoying great home cooked meals on a sunny terrace and watch live sporting events.’
It also bills itself as a ‘family friendly sports bar and restaurant located in Torreblanca, Fuengirola opposite one of the area’s most popular beaches.’
Torreblanca is to the east of Fuengirola town centre and a stone’s throw from an area called Los Boliches.
Saturday murders follow the fatal shooting nearly six weeks ago of a 32-year-old British man in nearby Calahonda a 15-minute drive from the Irish bar towards Marbella.
He was shot dead around 8pm on April 21 in a professional hit as he headed back to his car after finishing a football match with friends.
The killers fled in a getaway car that was later torched. Police are investigating the brutal assassination as a drug-related gang shooting but have yet to make any arrests.
The victim has not been named but was known to come from Liverpool.
Reports at the time described the incident as the fourth shooting so far that month on the Costa del Sol, where rival gangs have increasingly used extreme violence to settle disputes and a number of international mafias are known to have a base.
Four days before the Calahonda shooting a 34-year-old man was rushed to the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella after being shot outside a nightclub in the famous Costa del Sol resort.
