Slain Scottish thugs' gang joined Kinahans to set up €450M MV Matthew cocaine shipment

One victim was brother of key Daniel lieutenant in Dubai

- 

Underworld sources last night said Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan - shot dead on Saturday night - were key members of the gang that worked with Kinahan on a massive cocaine shipment seized by the Army Ranger Wing off the south coast almost two years ago.

They claimed the gang the men worked for teamed up with the Kinahan cartel to organise the huge, 2.5 tonnes shipment of cocaine worth up to €450million on the streets - seized by the ARW on the MV Matthew off the Wexford coast in September 2023.

Eight men have pleaded guilty over the MV Matthew plot and are due to be sentenced at the non-jury Special Criminal Court in Dublin later this week.

Sources say gardai are satisfied the killing of the two Scottish criminals outside a bar in Fuengirola was not connected to the MV Matthew haul or the Kinahan cartel itself.

Instead, they are believed to have been targeted as part of an ongoing feud between Scottish gangs.

Underworld sources claim crime king-pins Monaghan and Lyons Jnr were shot dead after watching the Champions League final at Monaghan's Pub.

ACCOMPLICE

According to local reports, a masked gunman jumped out of a vehicle at 11.30pm, fired several rounds at the entrance of the bar, striking one of the men in the chest and the other in the chest and abdomen. The gunman fled in the same vehicle which was driven by an accomplice -leaving tourists and expats in the bar terrified.

Sources say the shootings are linked to Scotland's ongoing gangland war which has seen attacks on homes and properties linked to Glasgow's Daniel crime clan.

Monaghan, who fled Scotland in 2017, is listed as the proprietor of the bar in an online business directory.

Spanish authorities confirmed the two killed were Scottish.