Crime boss jailed for £100m plot to smuggle cocaine in banana boxes

A Scottish gangster who masterminded a crippled to smuggle cocaine worthy £100m from South America successful boxes of bananas has been jailed for 20 years.

Jamie ‘Iceman’ Stevenson admitted directing the importation of the drug, which was seized by Border Force teams astatine Dover successful September 2020.

The crippled was uncovered aft an encrypted messaging level utilized by criminals was infiltrated by French police.

Stevenson had besides planned to flood Scotland with millions of Etizolam tablets, besides known arsenic thoroughfare valium, from a mill successful Kent.

The 59-year-old, from Rutherglen successful South Lanarkshire, was a starring fig astatine the apical level of organised transgression successful Scotland.

He was erstwhile described arsenic Scotland’s reply to Tony Soprano, the mafia brag portrayed successful tv bid The Sopranos. In 2022, helium featured connected a database of the UK’s 12 wanted men.

Last period Stevenson admitted his relation successful producing and supplying Etizolam and smuggling a tonne of cocaine - which constabulary estimated would person been worthy £100m connected the streets – into the UK.

Five different men - David Bilsland, 68; Paul Bowes, 53; Gerard Carbin, 45; Ryan McPhee, 34; and Lloyd Cross, 32 - besides pled blameworthy to superior organised transgression and cause offences.

Lewis Connor, 27, was jailed for 3 years successful July aft the probe recovered encrypted telephone messages which proved helium had acceptable occurrence to properties and vehicles crossed Central Scotland.

The drugs operation, which spanned the UK, Spain, Ecuador and Abu Dhabi, had been targeted by constabulary successful an enquiry which was named Operation Pepperoni.

Officers had been investigating reports that Bilsland, a Glasgow effect merchant, had links with organised crime. He was past seen gathering Stevenson successful a edifice successful Spain.

At astir the aforesaid time, officers had learned that Stevenson was progressive successful mounting up a mill successful Kent which was producing millions of Etizolam tablets.

The mill was raided successful June 2020 and Stevenson was arrested successful Glasgow.

He was taken to England by constabulary earlier being released connected bail. He past fled the UK, spending astir 2 years connected the tally earlier being arrested successful the Netherlands.

The National Crime Agency said Stevenson continued to nonstop the importation of cocaine into the UK from abroad.

Prosecutor Alex Prentice KC earlier told the tribunal that the messages connected the encrypted telephone web Encrochat showed Stevenson discussing plans to import kilo blocks of cocaine with Cross, arsenic good arsenic the usage of Bilsland supply “an quality of legitimacy”.

A tonne of the cause was seized successful a raid by Border Force teams astatine Dover successful September 2020.

They recovered 119 packages of cocaine concealed successful boxes of bananas from Ecuador, which were destined for Glasgow. It took officers 3 days to retrieve the drugs from the shipment.

Defence counsel Thomas Ross KC told the tribunal Stevenson had known precisely what helium was doing and had made “a bid of atrocious decisions” for which the information was obvious.

“He takes ownership of each those decisions and doesn’t question to formed blasted successful anybody else’s direction,” helium said.