Steven Lyons: Alleged Scottish crime boss to be deported to Spain to face murder charges

An alleged Scottish crime boss is being deported from the Indonesian resort island of Bali to Spain on Wednesday, following his arrest in connection with large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering.

Authorities identified Steven Lyons, 45, as a senior figure in an international crime syndicate who had spent months on the run.

He is also alleged to be the leader of the Scotland-based Lyons crime family.

Lyons was detained on Saturday upon his arrival at Bali’s Ngurah Rai international airport from Singapore, Indonesian immigration and police authorities confirmed.

His arrest was triggered by an Interpol Red Notice, issued at Spain’s request, which alerts police worldwide to arrest a suspect for extradition.

Wanted in both Spain and the United Kingdom, Lyons will be flown to Spain via Doha on Wednesday evening.

Bugie Kurniawan of Bali’s immigration office said that he was handed over to Spain’s Civil Guard officers at the airport, where prosecutors in Madrid are seeking to try him on charges related to organised crime, drug trafficking, and money laundering.

Lyons has been on Spain’s wanted list for about two years, following a murder there in 2024. Bali Police Chief Daniel Adityajaya said the arrest was part of a joint investigation involving Spanish and Scottish police.

According to Untung Widiyatmoko, who heads Indonesia’s branch of Interpol, Lyons is alleged to have led a transnational criminal network operating out of Cumbernauld, Scotland, and controlled narcotics trafficking routes from Spain to the UK.

His organised crime ring is suspected of using shell companies for money laundering in Europe and the Middle East, including in Spain, Scotland, England, Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain and Turkey.

Widiyatmoko said a day before Lyons’ arrest in Bali, police in Scotland and Spain carried out raids in connection with the case, with the help of Europol, a European Union law enforcement cooperation hub. Several people were arrested, while others were detained in Turkey, the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates.

Scottish media have reported that Lyons survived a 2006 shooting in Glasgow that killed his cousin and later moved to Spain before settling in Dubai, in the UAE.

Last May, his brother and an associate were shot and killed in a suspected gangland shooting at a beachfront bar in Fuengirola, southern Spain.