TWO notorious Scots gangsters were executed in front of horrified holidaymakers at a Costa del Sol boozer.
A masked assassin shot dead Lyons clan chiefs Ross Monaghan, 43, and Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46, after they watched the Champions League Final in Monaghan’s bar, Fuengirola.
The bloodbath on Saturday follows a bitter turf war between gangs here. An underworld source said: “They didn’t stand a chance.”
Gangland insiders warned of “all-out war” after Scotland’s savage turf war went global with the Mafia-style execution.
Holidaymakers looked on in horror as a masked hitman stormed into a Costa Del Sol pub to shoot the two men at point-blank range.
The ambush came as the senior members of the Lyons crime clan watched the Champions League Final on TV while laying low in the resort of Fuengirola.
Sources claim hoods from the rival Daniels mob, plus gangsters linked to caged cocaine kingpin Mark Richardson, had hatched a plot to take out the two men at a summit just days earlier.
It followed weeks of attacks on their associates, including a 12-year-old boy and pensioners.
One insider said: “The hitman got his orders after the meeting to take them both out.
“They knew that Monaghan and Lyons were a bit complacent and could be got at.
Most read in The Scottish Sun
“The Lyons mob had been taking liberties with old men and women as well as a young disabled kid.
“Whatever has happened here looks like a classic gangland hit. This is going to cause all-out war.”
Witnesses claimed the killer’s motor screeched to a halt outside Monaghans Irish bar at 11.30pm — when it was packed with footie fans who’d watched Paris Saint-Germain defeat Inter Milan 5-0.
He gunned down the pair near the entrance then jumped back in his getaway car and was driven off by an accomplice.
The thug was said to have blasted one of the men in the chest, killing him instantly.
His second victim also died at the scene despite desperate attempts to save him, according to witnesses.
Horror pictures from the aftermath showed a man, in shorts and a T-shirt, lying lifeless on his back on the bar’s terrace.
Cops and paramedics were later seen standing near a body, thought to be of the same man, which had been covered with a blanket.
Insiders claimed the men’s fate was sealed at a meeting of their rivals last week in Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow.
Daniel mob members are then said to have taken their families on holiday to ensure they were out of the country when the killers pounced — amid fears of revenge attacks.
Sources also said mob boss Steven Lyons, 44, was meant to be the main target of the assassination — but he was on a flight to Spain from Dubai at the time of the slayings.
It is understood Spain-based Eddie Jnr had recently been back in Scotland for the funeral of his 16-year-old daughter, who had long-term health problems.
Insiders claimed he told family and pals while he was home that he didn’t feel it was safe enough for him to return permanently.
He had been set to go on a golfing trip with Monaghan.
A source said: “With all the recent gang stuff, people were saying that her death had tipped him over the edge.
“He knew he was a target. He looked a worried man and made sure he didn’t stay too long.
“He kept saying he wished he could come back.”
Another source said: “The boys were there on a golf trip. They phoned home just a few days ago and were in high spirits. Their murders came as a complete shock.
“Nobody can believe it. But this changes everything.”
Last night locals in the Spanish sunspot told of their shock over the pitiless slayings. One neighbour said: “I thought they were going to me kill me too.
“I thought that I was hearing fireworks at first but then saw the noise was coming from someone firing a gun.”
TERRACES TO TOP TABLE
BY GRAHAM MANN
THE former football ultra waging gangland war in Scotland rose from the terraces to the top table of the criminal underworld.
Ross McGill emerged as a force in the stands during the period Steven Gerrard was in charge of the Glasgow giants.
Dramatic footage captures former Union Bears ultra Ross McGill with hundreds of hardcore Gers supporters during matchday marches.
The 31-year-old acts as a ringleader, bellowing instructions through a megaphone as the intimidating mob set off pyros amid thundering drum beats.
McGill looked to be revelling in his leadership role with the Ibrox fanatics as cops kept a close eye on their movements ahead of a powderkeg Old Firm derby in March 2018.
Sources say McGill’s ability to rally troops to his call has served him well in his current and far more sinister position at the top table of a fearsome crime mob.
Read more HERE.
A Chinese expat, who owns a shop next to the bar, said: “I looked out and saw a man pointing at something and shooting. I remember I saw the weapon.”
Spanish officers later set up roadblocks in a bid to flush out the gunman and accomplice.
But the hunt continued last night with no arrests yet made.
Officials were yet to reveal the victims’ identities but multiple underworld sources named them as Monaghan and Lyons.
Sources last night claimed Monaghan has been in charge of the bar where he was killed, with scores of Scots hoods known to be based in the area.
One insider revealed: “Monaghan runs the boozer, although you won’t find his name on any documents.
“He’d been based out there for years with Steven Lyons.
“Whatever has happened here looks like a classic gangland hit.
“It may not have anything to do with the ongoing gang war but the fact two high-ranking Scots hoods have been shot dead would be a massive coincidence.”
We told how hoods allegedly working for Dubai-based mobster Ross ‘Miami’ McGill, 31, triggered weeks of gang violence here.
The former Rangers ultra has been out for revenge amid claims he was ripped off by rivals in a £500,000 cocaine con.
Ex-Union Bears chief McGill blamed associates of jailed Edinburgh drug boss Richardson, 38, and the Daniels for using fake notes.
A series of firebombings and assaults followed across the capital before the carnage then switched to Glasgow, with Daniel family members targeted.
A group called Tamu Junto has claimed responsibility for the mayhem, which has led to more than 40 arrests as part of Police Scotland’s Operation Portaledge.
McGill, from East Kilbride, moved abroad in 2022 after skipping court on drug-dealing and gangsterism allegations.
He was said to have fled a nightclub in the UAE bolthole after spotting heavies linked to Steven ‘Bonzo’ Daniel, 45.
Speculating on the consequences of the killings, another insider last night said: “Whether it’s linked to the ongoing Scottish feud or another dispute with gangsters from some other group, this is bound to lead to further violence.
“And you can be sure that there will be rival mobsters back in Scotland who won’t be shedding a tear over their loss.”
Last night Scots cops would not say if they were working with Spanish authorities.
A spokesman for the National Police in Malaga said: “Around midnight an incident with firearms occurred in Fuengirola, specifically at an entertainment venue along the seafront.
“Two males died as a result from gunshot wounds. The investigation is ongoing. No arrests have been made so far.”