Arrested in Bali, Scottish Mafia Boss Handed Over to Spanish Police

A mafia boss from Scotland, Steven Lyons (SL), was successfully arrested in Bali by Indonesian authorities. The British national will subsequently be deported to Spain to be held accountable for all the crimes he has committed. The suspect SL (45) was apprehended at the International Arrival Terminal of Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali on Saturday (29/3) around 11:58 WITA by a joint team of police and immigration officers in Bali. The suspect SL is known as one of the leaders of a notorious mafia in Scotland, with crimes involving drug trafficking, operations of fictitious companies, and money laundering offences. “The arrest concerns a red notice for an international fugitive listed as a wanted person (DPO) by the Spanish police,” said Bali Police Chief Irjen Pol Daniel Adityajaya during a press conference at Bali Police Headquarters in Denpasar on Tuesday (31/3). He stated that SL, according to his passport, is a British foreign national and plays the role of leader of a large-scale transnational criminal organisation operating in drug trafficking and money laundering in Spain and Great Britain. “This is thanks to coordination and cooperation between NCB Interpol, Polri’s International Relations Division (Divhubinter), Bali Police, immigration, and of course the countries involved in the incident (crimes committed by the suspect),” he said. Director of General Criminal Investigation (Dirreskrimum) of Bali Police, Kombes I Gede Adhi Mulyawarman, also explained that the uncovering of SL is part of an operation codenamed Armour Room, a joint investigation initiated by the central operational unit of Spain’s Guardia Civil in Malaga and the Scottish police. “Then through a joint operation in Europe on 27 March 2026, this authority is part of a series that has led to 33 arrests in Scotland and 12 arrests in Spain,” he clarified. The suspect SL was arrested in Bali because he was listed on an Interpol red notice and based on intelligence information and international cooperation from NCB Interpol, NCB Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Polri’s Divhubinter, indicating that suspect SL was moving from Abu Dhabi to Indonesia with the destination of Bali. Subsequently, based on this information, Bali Police, Ngurah Rai Airport Resort Police, and Ngurah Rai Immigration officers immediately mobilised personnel. When SL arrived at Ngurah Rai International Airport, he was immediately arrested. Secretary of Indonesia’s NCB Interpol at Polri’s Divhubinter, Brigjen Pol Untung Widyatmoko, said that today the handover process or transfer to NCB Interpol and immigration is taking place, and SL is being picked up by Spanish police in Bali. “From Spain’s Guardia Civil, who have come to collect the red notice fugitive who is a major criminal actor operating not only in Spain, Scotland, England but also in Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, and Turkey for his drug trafficking,” said Brigjen Untung. The suspect SL is scheduled to be deported on Wednesday (1/4) tomorrow, escorted by Spanish police. “The individual is the leader of a cartel and criminal organisation involved in murders, drug trafficking, and money laundering. Subsequently, the subject will be deported and we will hand him over to Spain’s Guardia Civil,” he said. “We from Indonesia’s NCB Interpol are conducting close cooperation in exchanging intelligence information, including regarding several crimes that have certainly occurred in Bali, and we will continue to follow up and pursue the perpetrators,” he added. He stated that SL’s red notice was issued on 26 March 2026, and he has committed many crimes in various European countries. “He is indeed a British national. The individual has a residence permit in Spain and has committed many criminal offences in Spain, Turkey, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Dubai,” he explained. He also conveyed that SL has been a fugitive or DPO for the last two years after carrying out a murder action in Malaga and Madrid in Spain in 2024. “He has been on the run for two years after the 2024 murders in Malaga and Madrid. But clearly, he committed the murders due to rivalry between two crime groups, one Daniel group and one Lyons group. And both originate from Scotland but their operations cover almost all of Europe,” he explained. The criminal organisation led by SL is very large, with a drug network, murder cases, and money laundering. However, in Indonesia, it has not yet been detected whether he invested the laundered money proceeds.