The pair are among four gangsters lifted in the desert kingdom as part of an international crackdown on Scotland’s underworld
The pair are among four gangsters arrested in the desert kingdom as part of an international crack down on Scotland’s underworld.
It has been reported that McGill and the Lyons gang leader were lifted alongside Stephen ‘Jimmy’ Jamieson and Steven Larwood.
Steven Lyons who had been living in Dubai after years in Spain were nabbed in an operation one source told The Sun “that had been brewing for months but they never saw it coming”.
According to the publication’s sources, associates and loved-ones linked to the thugs were among those who were snared in the early morning raids on plush homes “by crack Dubai cops”.
Four were later released without charge but McGill, Lyons, Jamieson and Larwood remain behind bars.
Police in Scotland who are grappling with an outbreak of gang violence that kicked off in March have arrested almost 60 suspects in connection with around 80 fire bombings, machete attacks and murder bids across Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Scottish associates of Daniel Kinahan have been lifted in Dubai
News in 90 Seconds – September 17th
Operation Portaledge was launched to combat the gang violence that broke out between the Lyons gang and deadly rivals, the Daniel Clan that has been fuelled in part by the Kinahans.
The Lyons crime gang have strong ties with the Kinahan Cartel forged on Spain’s Costa Del Sol in the 2010s.
Sources have previously told the Daily Record how the cartel is linked to the attacks on the empire of jailed kingpin Mark Richardson, via their Scottish associates, including the head of the Lyons crime family, Steven Lyons.
The 47-year-old, who lives in the United Arab Emirates, reportedly attended Daniel Kinahan’s lavish Burj-al Arab Hotel wedding in 2021.
The Kinahans are also linked to Stevie Jamieson, the Scottish gangster also lifted in Dubai who was a close friend of James ‘Iceman’ Stevenson.
‘The Iceman’ admitted his role in smuggling £100m (€122m) of cocaine to the UK from Ecuador in a banana shipment after the haul was intercepted by authorities in Dover in 2020.
The bar where his Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46, and Ross Monaghan, 43, were shot dead in May.
Richardson (38) whose associates include members of Glasgow’s Daniel Clan, are believed to have ripped off Dubai-based Ross ‘Miami’ McGill with £500,000 of fake cash for a cocaine shipment.
The Lyons gang have reportedly been giving McGill, a former Rangers football ultras ‘capo’, information on the Edinburgh-based Daniel gangsters as he conducted his campaign of revenge.
McGill, 31, of East Kilbride, is alleged to have recruited foot soldiers operating under the name Tamo Junto to conduct knife attacks, shootings and firebombing that sparked a tit-for-tat gangland clash.
A wave of revenge attacks in Edinburgh then spread to Glasgow where members of the notorious Daniel clan were targeted including boss Steven ‘Bonzo’ Daniel.
McGill who was known for his role with Rangers ultras the Union Bears had fled to Spain in 2022 to avoid justice but re-surfaced this year in Dubai.
He was joined there by cocaine dealer Larwood who set up home in the same luxury enclave as McGill, according to The Sun.
He also has ties to Lyons who fled to Dubai after years in Spain where his brother Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46, and Ross Monaghan, 43, were shot dead in May.
Mark Richardson
The pair, who were killed in the attack at Monaghan’s pub in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol were key figures in the Glasgow-based Lyons crime gang.
The Lyons mob formed a close alliance with the Kinahan Cartel through Eddie Jnr’s brother, Stephen, who previously lived in Spain and now resides in Dubai, and were suspected of helping the Kinahans coordinate the shipment of €157million of cocaine on board the MV Matthews.
While police played down any links to the ongoing gang violence in Scotland to the killings, authorities in Spain said the shooter was a member of the Daniels gang.
Michael Riley (44) of Huyton, Liverpool, who is accused by Spanish authorities of murdering the Lyons duo, is currently fighting extradition from the UK
Meanwhile, underworld sources told the Record it was “only a matter of time” before McGill’s growing notoriety caught up with him and everyone associated with him after he waged war on the streets of Scotland back in March.
One said: “Scottish gangsters hiding out in Dubai should know you have to live the quiet life to not come to the attention of authorities.
“So McGill orchestrating a high-profile war and sharing videos of his antics online has really messed it up for him.
“He will have been getting watched and it was only a matter of time before cops over there got to him.
“Lyons and Jamieson have lived over here for a number of years without any problem, but they’ve been associating with McGill since he arrived and they must really regret that now.”