The Lions was a special police unit for fast interventions formed by the Macedonian interior minister Ljube Boškoski in 2001.

[7] Amnesty International reported that two citizens were allegedly severely beaten and threatened with guns and knives by members of the unit near Struga on 3 April 2002.

Мembers of the unit and the Macedonian police had a standoff on 23-24 January 2003, blocking the main Skopje-Pristina road at the border crossing of Blace.

The Lions ended their blockade after an agreement was reached between the unit, President Boris Trajkovski and Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski.

[3][7] According to official data from Macedonian police, Lions' members had been involved in more than 70 criminal acts including weapons offenses, pub brawls, murders and assaults on civilians.