‘Hitman' accused of murdering gang kingpins Ross Monaghan & Eddie Lyons Junior in Spain will fight extradition
Michael Riley, 44, of Merseyside, appeared today at Westminster Magistrates Court as part of a bid to have him shipped to Spain
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AN ALLEGED hitman nicked over the murders of two Scots gangsters is to fight extradition - as he claimed he was being intimidated by onlookers in court.
Michael Riley, 44, of Huyton, Liverpool, appeared today at Westminster Magistrates Court as part of a bid to have him shipped to Spain.
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Eddie Lyons Jnr, left, and Ross Monaghan were shot dead in Spain on May 31
Cops there issued an international arrest warrant in connection with their probe into the May 31 murders of Ross Monaghan, 43, and Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46.
Riley was apprehended by Merseyside police on June 13 under an international arrest warrant issued by the Spanish authorities last week.
Riley was remanded in custody by magistrates on Saturday after he was deemed a flight risk.
He appeared at the London court via videolink from HMP Wandsworth yesterday but due to technical difficulties the hearing could not go ahead effectively.
He appeared in person wearing a grey, prison-issued tracksuit and spoke to confirm his name and date of birth.
Riley was asked today by the court clerk if he wished to give consent to be extradited back to Spain, to which he said: 'No, I do not.'
Riley's extradition hearing will be on October 9 at Westminster Magistrates court and is expected to last all day.
Judge John Bristow said: 'As you know, Mr Riley, your extradition is sought by Spain, you have not consented to your extradition, so there is going to be a hearing on October 9.
'If you don't come to that hearing, it can proceed without you. That would mean you would not get the chance to tell your side of the story.
'You are not applying for bail today, so I am going to remand you in custody.
'Your next appearance will be on July 18, where on that occasion you will be on live television link.'
Riley accused a member of the public in the public gallery of staring at him and making funny faces.
He shouted: 'Stop looking at me' as he was led back to the cells.
We told how the Lyons gang kingpins were drinking in Monaghans bar after watching the Champions League Cup final when they were gunned down.
A hooded assassin was captured on CCTV storming the boozer and shooting both men dead in front of horrified holiday makers and staff.
We told how cops in Spain and Scotland gave conflicting information over who is believed to have ordered the double assassination.
Police Scotland first insisted three days after the slaughter they had 'no intelligence' to suggest the murders were connected to an ongoing turf war here.
However, at a sensational press conference in Malaga their Spain counterparts said the man they want extradited over the killings was 'an internal member of the rival Daniel gang'.
Malaga-based police chief Pedro Agudo Novo told reporters: "The double murder was carried out by a professional killer and member of one of the victims' rival gangs.
"In this case we're not talking about an independently hired killer but an internal member of the rival Daniel gang who ends up assassinating two members of an enemy gang."
That prompted the Scottish force to repeat their insistence there is no Daniel link to the slayings - a position also held by members of Monaghan's family.
A relative of the murdered mob boss said earlier this month: 'The one thing people need to know is the Daniels are not behind this.'
Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston said: "We are not aware of any current evidence which suggests the deaths of these two men in Spain are linked to criminal attacks in Scotland being investigated as part of Operation Portaledge.'
We told how a captured mobile phone holds the key to proving the assassinations in Spain of two Scots crime kingpins are linked to their Daniel gang rivals, sources claim.
Cops are understood to have seized the mobile from an alleged hitman suspected of shooting dead the duo.
Insiders say it contains data allegedly linking Riley, 44, to Daniel hoods who Spanish detectives reckon are behind the double slaying.
Career criminal Monaghan – who fled Scotland for Spain after a failed attempt on his life in 2017 – was tried but acquitted over the murder of notorious Glasgow hood Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll at an Asda car park in 2010.
In August 2017 he and Eddie Lyons Jr, both members of the Lyons Glasgow crime family, were cleared of being involved in a brutal street attack on three men outside the Campsie bar in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire.
Their deaths come amid an ongoing turf war in Scotland that's resulted in 48 arrests as part of Police Scotland's Operation Portaledge.
The gangland carnage in Edinburgh and Glasgow began in March amid claims Dubai-based hood Ross 'Miami' McGill, 31, of East Kilbride sought revenge after blaming associates of caged capital kingpin Mark Richardson, 38, for using fake notes in a dodgy £500,000 cocaine deal.
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