The Iceman Jailed for 20 Years

A Scottish crime boss who orchestrated a scheme to smuggle £100 million worth of cocaine from Ecuador hidden in boxes of bananas has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

James Stevenson, 59, known as “The Iceman,” pleaded guilty during his trial at the High Court in Glasgow to two charges: directing a serious criminal operation involving cocaine importation and participating in organized crime related to the production and distribution of etizolam, often referred to as street Valium.

The sentencing took place on today at Glasgow High Court.

The court heard that Border Force officials at the Port of Dover intercepted 18 shipments of bananas destined for the Glasgow Fruit Market between May and September 2020. These shipments contained nearly a tonne of cocaine with a purity of 73%, valued at approximately £76 million.

David Bilsland, 67, a fruit market trader, admitted to charges of conspiracy to import cocaine, while his co-accused, Paul Bowes, 53, pleaded guilty to involvement in organized crime connected to etizolam production and distribution across multiple locations, including the Nurai Island Resort in Abu Dhabi, as well as sites in London and Rochester, Kent.

Stevenson's stepson, Gerard Carbin, 44, and co-defendant Ryan McPhee, 34, also acknowledged their roles in organized crime related to etizolam.

The operation was dismantled after French law enforcement infiltrated the encrypted EncroChat network in April 2020. Lloyd Cross, 32, the owner of a vehicle recovery firm, pleaded guilty to his involvement prior to the trial and was also scheduled for sentencing on Wednesday.

The court was informed that Stevenson and Bilsland had met in a hotel in Alicante, Spain, on February 14, 2020, to discuss their plan. Messages indicated that Cross and Stevenson had met in a park in April 2020, while Bilsland coordinated the banana shipments and colluded with Cross to use their businesses to fund the drug importation, utilizing recovery vehicles for cash deliveries.

Additionally, arrangements were made to deliver over 13 million street Valium pills, and during a raid in Rochester in June 2020, authorities discovered equipment capable of producing 258,000 pills per hour.

Stevenson was arrested, released, and later fled to the Netherlands, where he was captured in 2022 and extradited. Both he and Carbin had previously been sentenced for organized crime in 2007, and the National Crime Agency named Stevenson one of the UK’s most wanted men in 2022.

THE ICEMAN JAILED FOR 20 YEARS