The Civil Guard, as part of Operation ‘Armorum’, has dismantled the structure based in Spain of the well-known “Lyons Clan”, one of the most violent criminal organizations to have emerged in Scotland in recent decades.
Among those arrested is SL, leader of this organization dedicated mainly to drug trafficking and money laundering, as well as the commission of violent crimes of all kinds.
Operation ‘Armorum’: a coordinated operation on a global scale
The operation has culminated in the arrest of 14 people in various countries. Authorities also acted in Indonesia with the support of the Spanish Civil Guard, where SL was arrested and subsequently transferred to the Netherlands, where the European Arrest Warrant issued by Spanish authorities was executed. Furthermore, SL’s partner was also arrested at Dubai International Airport (UAE), and is also considered an active member of the criminal organization. International cooperation with the Turkish National Police has also allowed for the location and freezing of numerous high-value assets linked to the criminal network in the Eurasian country.
In Spain, police operations took place last week with a total of 18 raids, primarily on the Costa del Sol and in Barcelona. During these raids, electronic devices, large amounts of cash, company documents, high-end watches, and cryptocurrency wallets were seized.
The investigation, carried out over three years by the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard, has been conducted in close collaboration with Police Scotland, and coordinated by EUROJUST.
Three decades of criminal activity
The “Lyons Clan” emerged in the Glasgow neighborhoods in the 1990s and evolved from a local family crime network into a transnational criminal organization with branches in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Simultaneously, the organization developed a complex money laundering network based on shell companies and international financial transactions, managing millions of euros derived from drug trafficking. Its ability to operate simultaneously in several countries—including Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey—and to forge alliances with other major criminal networks, solidified the clan’s position as one of the most significant players in contemporary European organized crime.
Connections to major international criminal networks
In 2006, following a confrontation in Glasgow, Scotland, in which a family member was killed, the current leader of the clan moved to Spain, where he maintained a low criminal profile for a time. He later relocated to Dubai, where he established his residence and from where he continued to direct operations and forge alliances with other international criminal organizations, such as the notorious Kinahan Clan.
The presence of these clans in Spain had already been the subject of previous investigations, such as the one carried out by the Fugitives from Justice Group of the Central Operational Unit of the Civil Guard in 2021, which culminated in the arrest of GH, known as “The Monk”, leader of another British criminal group, the “Hutch Clan”.
Violence between these types of organizations had one of its most recent episodes in May of last year, when the brother of the leader of the “Lyons Clan” and an associate were shot dead in a beach bar in Fuengirola (Malaga) in a settling of scores.
A clan marked by violence and international expansion
Over three decades, the Lyons Clan has evolved into a highly sophisticated criminal organization, characterized by the violence of its actions and its international expansion. Control of the organization has remained within the family, with continuous generational succession.
Their notoriety stemmed from a confrontation with a rival organization in northern Scotland in 2001. Since then, gang violence has spread to various parts of Europe, where both criminal organizations have established strategic enclaves.
International cooperation, key to success
The investigation has been led by the Court of Instruction No. 7 of Malaga, with the intervention of the Public Ministry, and carried out by the Organized Crime Team of the UCO based in Malaga.
In the operational phase, in addition to the Civil Guard and Police Scotland, Europol, the Turkish Anti-Narcotics Police, the Dubai Police, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) participated.
This operation reaffirms the importance of international police and judicial cooperation as an essential tool to combat criminal networks that operate without borders.