Glasgow's streets have long echoed with the footsteps of gangland rivalries, but none have cast as long a shadow as the bloody war between the Daniel and Lyons families. What began in 2001 with the theft of cocaine valued between £20,000 and £500,000 has evolved into Scotland's most enduring and vicious criminal feud, claiming numerous lives and expanding beyond national borders.
The early phase established the brutal template for what would follow. Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll, the Daniel family's ruthless enforcer known for his "alien abduction" tactics, orchestrated fierce retaliations against the Lyons. The conflict reached shocking depths in 2006 when Daniel associates desecrated the grave of 8-year-old Gary Lyons, who had died from leukemia years earlier. This unconscionable act transcended ordinary criminal rivalry, cementing a hatred that would fuel decades of violence. That same year, the Godfather-style execution at Apple Row Motors left Michael Lyons dead and was followed by a chilling ransom note explicitly tying the murder to the original drug debt.
The 2010 assassination of Carroll himself—gunned down in broad daylight at an Asda supermarket—marked another watershed moment, followed by controversial court proceedings that saw one suspect acquitted and another sentenced to 22 years. After a period of simmering tension, 2017 brought a resurgence of brazen attacks, including the shooting of Ross Monaghan outside a primary school and a horrific machete assault that left Steven "Bonzo" Daniel with life-changing facial injuries. Most recently, the feud has expanded internationally, culminating in the May 2023 double murder of Eddie Lyons Jr and Ross Monaghan in Spain's Costa del Sol.
Discover how this bitter conflict moved from Glasgow's housing schemes to the international stage, involving Dubai-based crime figures and creating dangerous new alliances across Scotland. Subscribe now to understand how a debt, a theft, and wounded pride spawned over twenty years of ruthless gangland warfare that shows no sign of ending.
