JAKARTA, Indonesia — A 45-year-old Scottish man accused of running an international criminal organization has been sent from Indonesia to Spain to face serious drug and money laundering charges, according to Indonesian officials.
Steven Lyons departed Indonesia for Amsterdam on Wednesday morning before continuing his journey to Spain, confirmed Husnan Handano, a representative from Bali’s immigration department. His transfer had been postponed several times while authorities completed their investigation.
Law enforcement agencies describe Lyons as a high-ranking member of a global crime network. He was taken into custody on March 28 when he landed at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport after flying in from Singapore. Indonesian immigration systems detected him based on an Interpol Red Notice requested by Spanish authorities.
Spanish and British law enforcement have been seeking Lyons, who is suspected of heading the Lyons criminal organization. He has been on Spain’s most wanted list for approximately two years following a homicide that occurred there in 2024.
According to Bali Police Chief Daniel Adityajaya, Lyons’ capture resulted from collaborative efforts between Indonesian, Spanish, and Scottish law enforcement agencies.
Indonesian police claim Lyons orchestrated a cross-border criminal enterprise based in Scotland that managed drug smuggling operations between Spain and the United Kingdom. Investigators also believe his organization cleaned illegal proceeds through fake businesses established throughout Europe and the Middle East, spanning Spain, Scotland, England, Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, and Turkey.
Before Lyons’ detention in Bali, coordinated raids by Scottish and Spanish police connected to this investigation led to numerous arrests. Additional suspects were apprehended in Turkey, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates.
Bugie Kurniawan, director of Bali’s immigration office, revealed that Lyons came to Bali with two other individuals who remain on the island, though Lyons claimed he traveled by himself. Spanish Interpol has identified these companions as members of the same criminal group, but they are not subject to arrest warrants or Interpol Red Notices.
Bali Police spokesperson Ari Sandy declined to provide details about the ongoing investigation.
Reports from Scottish news outlets indicate that Lyons escaped a 2006 shooting incident in Glasgow that claimed his cousin’s life, subsequently relocating to Spain and eventually establishing residence in Dubai. In the previous year, his brother and an accomplice were fatally shot in what officials characterized as a suspected organized crime attack at a coastal bar in Fuengirola, located in southern Spain.
