Police brace for gangland violence after online threat targets mourners of two murdered Scots
What should have been a solemn farewell has turned into a scene of dread and rising danger.
As family and friends prepare to bury two Scottish gangsters gunned down while watching the Champions League final in Fuengirola, Spain, a chilling warning has turned grief into fear: attend the funerals, and you could be next.
Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr were reportedly executed in cold blood on the Costa del Sol. But their deaths have done nothing to settle scores in Britain’s bitterest gangland feud—instead, they’ve poured fuel on the fire. This week, a menacing online message emerged, explicitly warning that anyone seen at the funerals would be “treated the exact same way as the rest.”
Authorities are taking the threat extremely seriously. Cross-border police units from the UK and Spain are now on high alert, fearing reprisals and further bloodshed in an already volatile landscape. Intelligence analysts say the funerals, instead of bringing closure, could become flashpoints for the next violent escalation.
Monaghan, long linked to organised crime in Glasgow, and Lyons Jnr—scion of the infamous Lyons family—were watching the final in a busy bar in Fuengirola when masked gunmen opened fire. The attack bore all the hallmarks of a professional hit.
Spanish police quickly arrested Michael Riley, a 44-year-old from Merseyside with alleged ties to the Daniel clan, sworn enemies of the Lyons family. Riley is now fighting extradition, but investigators believe he played a key role in orchestrating the ambush.
Sources say the Daniels, a crime syndicate known for their ruthlessness, may be seeking to stamp their dominance once and for all. And with Riley behind bars, tensions across Liverpool and Glasgow are said to be at a boiling point.
Embed from Getty Images“You’re not just talking about two families,” said one senior UK policing source. “This is a network of allegiances and rivalries that runs across cities and countries. When someone’s taken out, there’s a vacuum—and somebody always wants to fill it.”
The online threat—circulated via encrypted messaging apps—has thrown plans for the funerals into chaos. Security services are reportedly working closely with funeral directors, church officials, and local law enforcement to monitor activity around the events. Surveillance is being ramped up across Merseyside, Greater Manchester, and West Scotland.
For the families of Monaghan and Lyons, the pain is now layered with terror. One relative, speaking anonymously, said: “We just want to say goodbye in peace, but now everyone’s scared to show up.”
The climate of fear extends beyond immediate families. Locals in communities known to have connections to the feuding gangs say they’ve noticed increased patrols, suspicious vehicles, and a tense silence hanging in the air.
The Home Office has confirmed it is “monitoring the situation closely in cooperation with Spanish authorities.”
Experts say the feud—now decades old—has reached one of its most dangerous chapters. The high-profile nature of the Costa del Sol killings and the international attention they’ve drawn has only deepened the urgency for law enforcement.
“This is not just about gangland honour anymore,” said investigative journalist Darren O’Leary. “This is about a war where even the act of mourning has become a battlefield.”
Whether the funerals go ahead peacefully or descend into further chaos remains to be seen. For now, one thing is clear: the violence that erupted on a Spanish beachside bar has followed the coffins all the way home.
