Six men have admitted conspiring to flood Scotland with around £100 million of cocaine smuggled to the UK from South America.
Today, Thursday, 29 August 2024, James Stevenson, 59 (above), David Bilsland, 68, and Paul Bowes, 53, plead guilty to serious organised crime and drug offences following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Gerard Carbin,45, Ryan McPhee, 34, and Lloyd Cross, 32, had plead guilty earlier in the trial.
In September 2020, around a tonne of cocaine with an estimated value of £100 million was discovered, concealed within a consignment of bananas, during a joint operation by Police Scotland and the National Crime Agency (NCA) at Dover.
The seizure of 119 packages of the Class A drugs, which had arrived into the port on a vessel from Ecuador, was made by Organised Crime Partnership officers, assisted by specialist Border Force search teams.
Searches were subsequently carried out at properties in Scotland and England and the accused were identified.
The investigation was closely linked to Operation Venetic – the most significant operation into serious and organised crime involving Police Scotland, the National Crime Agency and police forces across the UK – which has seen hundreds of arrests following the infiltration of an encrypted communications platform used by criminals.
Stevenson had fled the UK and was arrested in February 2022 in the south of The Netherlands by Police Scotland, NCA and international law enforcement officers.
Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Ferry, Police Scotland’s Head of Organised Crime said: “The conviction of those men involved in this dangerous organised crime group are testament to the hard work and determination of those who undertook a complex investigation which spanned countries across the world.
“The multi-agency operation, including the National Crime Agency, prevented a massive haul of drugs reaching our communities across Scotland and ruining lives. It also underlines the value of working in partnership with our law enforcement colleagues in this country and abroad.
“Police Scotland officers work tirelessly every day to disrupt the activities of serious organised crime groups who think they are above the law, and in some way untouchable. The guilty pleas tendered today show this not to be the case.”
NCA Regional Head of Investigations Gerry Mclean said: “The drugs trade causes immense damage and devastation, fuelling violence on our streets and the exploitation of young and vulnerable people across the country.
“Following his arrest in 2020, career criminal Stevenson fled the country but continued to direct the importation of cocaine into the UK from abroad, falsely believing he could evade justice.
“His plea today, and the earlier admissions of guilt by five of his co-conspirators, are testament to the dedicated work of NCA officers, our Police Scotland partners and our many law enforcement colleagues right across the globe.
“Together, we are working tirelessly to disrupt and dismantle organised crime groups who supply class A drugs, ensuring that all those involved, wherever they choose to hide, are brought before the courts.”
Another man, Lewis Connor, aged 27 years, was jailed for three years in July this year after the same investigation found encrypted phone messages which proved he had set fire to properties and vehicles across Central Scotland.
The Organised Crime Partnership (Scotland) is a joint Police Scotland and NCA team. Police Scotland and the NCA are partners in Scotland’s Serious Organised Crime Taskforce, which oversees the work being carried out to reduce the harm caused by serious organised crime in Scotland by ensuring all partner bodies work together.