Spanish bar where Scottish crime figures were shot dead to reopen

A Spanish bar where two senior figures from Scottish crime group were shot dead is to reopen this weekend under a new name.

Ross Monaghan, 43, and Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46, were murdered at Monaghans bar in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol on 31 May.

According to the venue’s Facebook page, the beachfront pub – which is understood to have have been co-owned by Monaghan – will now be called The Irish Rover.

Michael Riley, 44, has been accused by Spanish police of the murders with a full extradition hearing scheduled for later this year.

Mongahan and Lyons Jnr were targeted by a lone gunman in front of friends and customers after watching the Champions League final.

Both were linked to the Lyons crime group, which is based in the west of Scotland.

According to the Spanish National Police, the suspect’s gun jammed after he killed Lyons Jnr with a single shot outside the bar.

He then pursued Monaghan inside and fired two more shots which proved fatal.

On Tuesday, a senior Spanish National Police officer highlighted the “professionalism” of the shootings and the suspect’s “perfectly planned” escape from Spain.

Chief Supt Pedro Agudo Novo also alleged that the killer was a member of the Daniel crime group.

The Lyons and Daniel families and their criminal associates have been engaged in a violent feud which dates back more than two decades.

Since March, individuals linked to the Daniel group have been targeted in a wave of gangland attacks in the east and west of Scotland.

BBC Scotland News understands that investigators in Spain and in Scotland were surprised by Chief Supt Agudo Novo’s public statement.

The position of Scottish detectives is that there is no evidence linking the shootings to the Daniel group.

In response to Chief Supt Novo’s comments, Police Scotland repeated the carefully-worded statement they issued three days after the murders.

The force said there was still “no current evidence” to suggest events in Fuengirola were linked to the ongoing violence in Scotland, or that they had been “orchestrated from Scotland”.

Last Friday, Michael Riley was arrested on an international arrest warrant in the Liverpool area in connection with the shootings.

Mr Riley appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London via videolink from HMP Wandsworth on Thursday.

He has not been charged and as yet has had no opportunity to respond to allegations made about him by Spanish National Police.