DENPASAR, Indonesia — Indonesian immigration officials have detained a Scottish national believed to be a high-ranking member of a global criminal organization, law enforcement announced Tuesday.
Steven Lyons, 45, was apprehended by immigration personnel at Ngurah Rai International Airport on Saturday after arriving from Singapore, confirmed Untung Widiyatmoko, who leads Indonesia’s Interpol division.
Airport systems had identified Lyons through an Interpol Red Notice requested by Spanish authorities. These notices serve as international alerts asking law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and arrest individuals for potential extradition.
Widiyatmoko informed media in Denpasar, Bali’s capital city, that Lyons faces charges in both Spain and Britain for organized criminal activity, narcotics trafficking, and financial crimes. Officials plan to transfer him to Spain on Wednesday.
Spanish authorities have pursued Lyons for approximately two years following a homicide investigation that began in 2024. Bali Police Chief Daniel Adityajaya explained that the capture resulted from collaborative efforts between Spanish and Scottish law enforcement agencies.
Widiyatmoko stated that investigators believe Lyons operated a criminal network utilizing fake businesses to launder money throughout Europe and Middle Eastern nations, including Spain, Scotland, England, Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain and Turkey.
Law enforcement agencies in Scotland and Spain conducted coordinated raids last week related to Lyons’ case, leading to several additional arrests with assistance from Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement coordination agency, along with authorities in Turkey, the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates.
Reports from Scottish news outlets indicate Lyons escaped a 2006 Glasgow shooting that claimed his cousin’s life, subsequently relocating to Spain before establishing residence in Dubai. In May of last year, his brother and another associate were fatally shot in what authorities suspect was a gang-related attack at a coastal bar in Fuengirola, located in southern Spain.
Bugie Kurniawan from Bali’s immigration department revealed that Lyons traveled with two other individuals who remain on the island. While Spanish Interpol officials have identified these companions as suspected members of the same criminal organization, no arrest warrants have been issued for them.
