'Iceman' crime boss masterminded plot to smuggle £100m of cocaine in banana boxes
manchestereveningnews.co.ukA notorious crime boss who masterminded a plot to smuggle £100m of cocaine from Ecuador in boxes of bananas has been jailed.
James Stevenson, 59, known as 'The Iceman', pleaded guilty midway through a trial at the High Court in Glasgow to two charges: of directing a serious criminal offence of importation of cocaine, and of being involved in organised crime through the production and supply of etizolam, often known as street Valium, the Daily Record reports.
He was jailed for 20 years when the case called for sentencing at the court on Wednesday. Four other men who admitted their guilt mid-trial are also due to be sentenced. READ MORE: Man stabbed in the hand by two men who ran off 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.
Read more on manchestereveningnews.co.uk