Killings may not be linked to ongoing Scots feud

THE double murder of two notorious Scottish gangland figures may not be linked to the ongoing feud that has engulfed the country.

- By Richard Elias

The ‘hits’ on Eddie Lyons Jr and Ross Monaghan, the Scottish underworld’s most significant killings in almost two decades, were carried out amid a gang war that has spiralled out of control. Efforts to annihilate Edinburgh drug kingpin Mark Richardson and his associates, especially the Daniel crime family, have increased since a £500,000 cocaine consignment was stolen.

Saturday’s two shootings would signal the most serious escalation of the conflict but last night, sources indicated to the Scottish Daily Express that it was not certain the deaths were a result of the current war. Monaghan has had a price on his head ever since

Criminality

he walked from court after being acquitted of murdering Kevin ‘Gerbil’ Carroll. Lyons Jr was a marked man simply because of his name.

One insider indicated that the pair associate with high-level criminality from across Europe and it is possible this was a motive. He said: “The Lyons are known to have been struggling to pay off what they owe to some serious people, such as the Kinahans. You do not want to be in debt to such people.