A Scottish crime figure is set to be deported to Spain on Wednesday after being arrested on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali over alleged involvement in large-scale drug-trafficking and money laundering, authorities said.
Officials identified the 45-year-old as Steven Lyons, describing him as a senior member of an international crime syndicate who had been on the run for several months. He was detained on Saturday upon arrival at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport from Singapore, according to Indonesian immigration and police authorities.
The immigration system flagged Lyons due to an Interpol Red Notice issued at Spain’s request. Such notices are global alerts, seeking the arrest of suspects for extradition. Lyons, wanted in both Spain and the United Kingdom, is scheduled to be flown to Spain via Doha on Wednesday evening, said Bugie Kurniawan from Bali’s immigration office.
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The suspected head of the Lyons crime family, based in Scotland, was handed over to Spain’s Civil Guard officers at the airport ahead of his transfer to Madrid, where prosecutors intend to try him on charges linked to organised crime, drug-trafficking and money-laundering, Kurniawan added.
Authorities said Lyons has been on Spain’s wanted list for about two years, following a murder in 2024. Bali Police Chief Daniel Adityajaya noted the arrest was part of a joint investigation involving Spanish and Scottish police.
Untung Widiyatmoko, who leads Indonesia’s Interpol branch, said Lyons is accused of heading a transnational criminal network operating out of Cumbernauld, Scotland, and overseeing drug-trafficking routes from Spain to the UK.
The group is also suspected of using shell companies to launder money across Europe and the Middle East, including in Spain, Scotland, England, Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain and Turkey.
Widiyatmoko added that a day before Lyons’ arrest, coordinated raids were carried out in Scotland and Spain with assistance from Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency. Several suspects were arrested, while others were detained in Turkey, the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates.
Scottish media reported that Lyons survived a 2006 shooting in Glasgow in which his cousin was killed.
He later relocated to Spain before settling in Dubai. In May last year, his brother and an associate were shot dead in a suspected gang-related attack at a beachfront bar in Fuengirola, southern Spain.
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