Bold headline-worthy claim: a single arrest in Liverpool has cast a long shadow over a sprawling transnational drug web that stretches from Merseyside to Scotland and beyond. And this is the part most people miss: the interconnected world of organized crime often operates behind a veneer of normalcy, with violence, borders, and business all tangled together. Here’s a clear, beginner-friendly rewrite that preserves all key details while making them easier to grasp.
Surprise at Liverpool arrest linked to deadly shootout in Spain
A rising tie between Liverpool and Glasgow crime networks drew intense scrutiny last year after Merseyside resident Michael Riley was arrested and extradited to Spain. Spanish authorities believe Riley is the gunman who killed Glasgow crime bosses Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jr. during an assassination at Monaghan’s Fuengirola bar in May of the previous year.
The so-called “criminal supply chain” between Liverpool and Glasgow grabbed headlines, raising alarm among county lines groups who rely on cross-border routes. In a recent interview, author and editor Richard Elias explained how Liverpool had been supplying Scotland’s gangs with hard drugs for roughly five decades, with most of the lucrative trade funneled through Glasgow.
Elias argues that the connection between the two cities intensified in the late 1980s and early 1990s amid the heroin boom.
Richard, who co-authored Cocky—a well-known book about Liverpool gangster Curtis ’Cocky’ Warren—said: “There were reports that at one stage as much as 80% of Scotland’s narcotics came from Merseyside. I doubt the figure is that high today, but the influence remains substantial. Couriers travel along the M74 and M6, delivering money one way and drugs the other.”
He added that a major driver of the drugs trade in Liverpool and Merseyside is the port, especially the Seaforth container terminal, which directly links to suppliers in South and Central America and the Caribbean. The sheer size of the terminal makes it challenging to search thoroughly, giving criminals opportunities to smuggle large quantities of narcotics.
Liverpool: a unique position in England for foreign crime groups
In a dialogue with the Daily Record’s Criminal Record podcast, Elias described cannabis as the first drug to emerge from Liverpool in the 1970s, followed by heroin and ecstasy in the 1980s. Today, cocaine and ketamine are prominent commodities shipped from the city.
He contends that Liverpool ranks among the UK’s top three distribution hubs for drugs and notes it is the only English city where foreign criminals—such as Albanian syndicates—haven’t established a foothold, at least not to the same extent as elsewhere.
Elias emphasizes that Liverpool-to-Glasgow remains the main route for drugs entering Scotland. Yet over the past five years, Liverpool gangs have built their own distribution networks to smaller Scottish towns, including Aberdeenshire, Inverness, and the Highlands, while avoiding overt clashes with Glasgow groups.
A notable figure in this era is Christopher Welsh Jr., nicknamed “the Scouse Escobar.” He and his father built a large-scale operation distributing cocaine and heroin to Glasgow gangs before Welsh Jr. faced law enforcement custody. Titan, the former North West organized crime unit, estimated that their couriers made at least 111 trips as part of the cross-border operation. The drugs, valued at roughly £100 million to £200 million on the street, funded a lavish lifestyle for Welsh Jr. and his associates.
Welsh Jr. and his associates faced substantial prison sentences in May 2013, ending that particular chapter. However, within about two months, Welsh Jr. returned to trafficking heroin and cocaine, moving around £3 million in drugs across two conspiracies—from Merseyside to other regions.
Richard notes that about six major crime groups dominate organized crime across Liverpool and Merseyside, and that unlike Glasgow’s long-running Lyons–Daniel feud, the Merseyside scene isn’t defined by a single violent confrontation. Instead, violence tends to originate from smaller, street-level groups—postcode gangs—fighting over territory, especially in northern Liverpool.
Top players generally stay low profile, avoiding attention from national agencies and local police. They prefer to keep a low profile so they can continue global dealings—often with connections in South America, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates—without heavy interference.
Elias also highlights that gun violence in Merseyside is considerably higher than in Glasgow, pointing to a permissive environment for firearms that he likens to a lending library where weapons and ammunition can be rented and repaid with higher fees if used in crime. He notes that this dynamic has persisted for about three decades.
Recent incidents in Merseyside underscore ongoing concerns: in November of the previous year, two injury shootings occurred in the region, including a case involving former Liverpool academy player Paddy Lacey and others charged in connection with an attempted murder in Huyton. A separate street shooting on Manley Road left a 19-year-old man wounded, though no arrests have been announced in connection with that incident.
Meanwhile, 2026 has started with a quiet spell in Merseyside, contrasting Elias’s warnings about a library-like firearms system that could enable rapid weapon turnover and re-use in violence.
Liverpool’s deep-rooted organized crime history includes notorious names such as Tommy Comerford, Curtis Warren, John Haase, and Ian McAteer from the Glasgow-Merseyside scene. Elias notes Haase once supplied a Magnum to a well-known Glasgow figure and was subsequently imprisoned. Curtis Warren—at 63, with past convictions for manslaughter and drug smuggling and once listed on The Sunday Times Rich List—remains a storied figure in this world. Ian McAteer, linked to Dalmuir, Clydebank, rose through the ranks in the 1990s and was convicted in 2001 of murdering drug dealer Warren Selkirk at Crosby Marina.
Regarding Michael Riley, the 45-year-old arrested in connection with the Monaghan and Lyons killings, Elias characterizes the development as surprising for Liverpool and suggests the trial may be years away. Riley has not been a familiar figure to many observers, and one Merseyside solicitor described him as relatively unremarkable before his extradition saga intensified the case.
Riley’s decision to drop opposition to extradition in October and travel to Spain to stand trial followed his June arrest in Liverpool. Much of the evidence against him is believed to hinge on CCTV footage from Monaghan’s bar and various airports in England and Portugal. Elias suspects Riley could spend an extended period in a Spanish jail before any courtroom appearance in Spain.
The ongoing saga continues to unfold, with more details likely to emerge as investigations proceed and trials begin.
Notes: The referenced interviews and articles provide a window into how a historical, cross-border drug economy has shaped criminal networks in the region, while also highlighting the complex, often opaque nature of organized crime that operates across multiple jurisdictions.
