'Iceman' jailed for running international drug smuggling scheme

A man who plotted to smuggle £76 million of cocaine into the UK from Ecuador in consignments of bananas has been jailed for 20 years.

James Stevenson, 59, known as The Iceman, pleaded guilty mid-trial at the High Court in Glasgow to two charges - directing a serious criminal offence of importation of cocaine, and being involved in organised crime through production and supply of etizolam, known as street valium.

He was jailed for 20 years when the case called at the court on Wednesday.

Four other men who admitted their guilt mid-trial are also due to be sentenced.

The court previously heard Border Force officers at the Port of Dover seized 18 consignments of bananas addressed to Glasgow Fruit Market between May and September 2020.

They contained cocaine with a purity of 73%, weighing almost a tonne and with a street value of £76 million.

Fruit market trader David Bilsland, 67, entered a guilty plea to a charge of agreeing to import cocaine and co-accused Paul Bowes, 53, pleaded guilty to being involved in organised crime linked to the production and supply of class C drug etizolam at a string of premises including the Nurai Island Resort in Abu Dhabi, in London and in Rochester, Kent.

Stevenson's stepson, Gerard Carbin, 44, and co-accused Ryan McPhee, 34, admitted being involved in organised crime through the production and supply of etizolam.

The plot was smashed by French law enforcement officers who infiltrated the encrypted EncroChat network in April 2020.

Vehicle recovery firm owner Lloyd Cross, 32, pleaded guilty to involvement in the plot before the trial, and is also due to be sentenced on Wednesday.

The court previously heard Stevenson and Bilsland, a trader at Glasgow Fruit Market, met at a hotel in Alicante, Spain, to discuss the plan on February 14, 2020.

Messages suggested Cross and Stevenson met in a park to discuss plans in April 2020, while Bilsland arranged banana consignments and colluded with Cross to use their businesses to fund the importation of drugs, with recovery vehicles used to deliver and collect cash, the court heard.

The court was also told delivery was being arranged of more than 13 million street valium pills and during a raid in Rochester in June 2020, equipment capable of producing 258,000 pills per hour was discovered.

Stevenson was arrested, released and later fled to the Netherlands, but he was captured there in 2022 and extradited.

Stevenson and Carbin were both jailed in 2007 for organised crime, and the National Crime Agency named the older man as one of the UK's most wanted men in 2022.

Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Ferry, Police Scotland’s Head of Organised Crime, said:

“The sentencing of Stevenson, Bilsland, Bowes, Carbin, McPhee and Cross following their guilty pleas sends out a clear message that the activities of those who think that they can bring illegal drugs into our communities will not be tolerated.

“I want to acknowledge the hard work and diligence shown by the officers who investigated the group and provided the evidence in what was a complex investigation and shows the value of working with our law enforcement partners including the National Crime Agency and those abroad. It also shows Police Scotland’s unwavering commitment to the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce and its national strategy.

“This multi-agency operation, which spanned several countries, prevented a huge haul of illegal drugs reaching our communities and will have undoubtedly saved lives. However, we cannot be complacent, and our officers will continue their work to ensure Scotland remains a hostile environment for organised criminals.”

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