Drug baron who plotted to smuggle £76,000,000 of cocaine in bananas jailed

A cause lord who became 1 of the UK’s astir wanted men has been jailed for 20 years implicit a crippled to smuggle £76 cardinal of cocaine into the state successful a cargo of bananas.

James Stevenson, 59, known arsenic ‘The Iceman’, arranged for astir a tonne of cocaine to beryllium sent from Ecuador to Glasgow’s Fruit Market.

The city’s High Court heard Border Force officers astatine the Port of Dover seized 18 consignments of bananas containing 119 foil packages of cocaine with a purity of 73%.

Stevenson besides plotted to nutrient and proviso astir 28 cardinal ‘street Valium’ tablets, which were seized pursuing a raid connected a pill mill successful Kent.

He pleaded blameworthy to directing the importation of cocaine and being progressive successful organised transgression done the accumulation and proviso of Etizolam partway done his trial.

Stevenson showed nary absorption arsenic helium was jailed.

Defending, Thomas Ross KC said: ‘He knew precisely what helium was doing and appreciates Your Lordship indispensable walk a condemnation that deters others.’

Fruit marketplace trader David Bilsland, 67, admitted agreeing to import cocaine.

Co-accused Paul Bowes, 53, pleaded blameworthy to being progressive successful organised transgression linked to the accumulation and proviso of people C cause etizolam astatine a drawstring of premises including the Nurai Island Resort successful Abu Dhabi, successful London and successful Rochester, Kent.

Stevenson’s stepson, Gerard Carbin, 44, and co-accused Ryan McPhee, 34, admitted being progressive successful organised transgression done the accumulation and proviso of etizolam.

The crippled was smashed by French instrumentality enforcement officers who infiltrated the encrypted EncroChat web successful April 2020.

Stevenson was arrested, released and aboriginal fled to the Netherlands, but helium was captured determination successful 2022 and extradited.

Vehicle betterment steadfast proprietor Lloyd Cross, 32, pleaded blameworthy to engagement successful the crippled earlier the trial, and is besides owed to beryllium sentenced connected Wednesday.

The tribunal antecedently heard Stevenson and Bilsland, a trader astatine Glasgow Fruit Market, met astatine a edifice successful Alicante, Spain, to sermon the program connected February 14, 2020.

Messages suggested Cross and Stevenson met successful a parkland to sermon plans successful April 2020, portion Bilsland arranged banana consignments and colluded with Cross to usage their businesses to money the importation of drugs, with betterment vehicles utilized to present and cod cash, the tribunal heard.

Deputy Crown Agent Kenny Donnelly said: ‘James Stevenson and his transgression associates were progressive successful cause trafficking connected an concern and planetary scale.

‘But they person been brought to justness acknowledgment to an extended cognition involving Police Scotland and the National Crime Agency, moving with COPFS, to analyse and dismantle their web of cause supply.

‘Our connection is clear: we volition permission nary chromatic unturned successful our pursuit of cause traffickers. They volition beryllium caught, they volition beryllium prosecuted, and they volition beryllium brought to relationship for their crimes done the courts.’

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