Man accused of killing Scots gangsters to be extradited 'within days'

Eddie Lyons Jr (left) and Ross Monaghan were killed in the shooting at Monaghans bar in Fuengirola in May

A man accused of murdering two Scottish gang members on the Costa Del Sol faces extradition to Spain within days.

Spanish police have alleged that Michael Riley shot Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan in Fuengirola on 31 May.

The 44-year-old was arrested at their request in Liverpool on 14 June and initially opposed his extradition, saying he would be in fear of his life if he was held in a Spanish prison.

But the Crown Prosecution Service has now confirmed that Mr Riley, of Huyton, Liverpool, gave his consent last week to be taken to Spain to face prosecution.

The standard practice would be for Spanish police to come to the UK and escort the accused back to their country within 10 days of his agreeing to go.

Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr had been watching the Champions League final with friends when they were targeted at Monaghans Bar on Fuengirola's beachfront.

According to medical reports, Lyons Jnr, 46, died after being hit by a single bullet outside the bar.

CCTV footage showed the gunman pursuing Monaghan, 43, inside the pub and firing more shots, leaving him fatally injured.

Scottish detectives have been helping the Spanish police with their investigation and have provided background information on the pair, who were cremated after a double funeral in July.

Both were connected to the Lyons family, a major organised crime group based in the west of Scotland which has been involved in a decades-long feud with the rival Daniel family.

In the wake of the killings, Malaga-based Spanish police chief Pedro Agudo Novo described Mr Riley as being a member of the Daniels crime group.

Police Scotland said there was nothing to suggest the shooting in Fuengirola had been planned from within Scotland.

They also said there was no intelligence to suggest a link with another gangland feud which has led to a wave of violence across Scotland's central belt this year.

Police Scotland has so far made 57 arrests as part of Operation Portaledge, which is investigating a series of assaults, shootings and firebombings by rival gangs in Glasgow and Edinburgh.