Jamie Stevenson: Crime boss who was one of UK's most wanted men to appeal against jail sentence
Stevenson, known as "Iceman", was the ringleader of a plot to smuggle tens of millions of pounds worth of cocaine into Britain from Ecuador in consignments of bananas. He was arrested as part of an investigation named Operation Pepperoni.
Tuesday 8 October 2024 15:01, UK
A man who masterminded a plot to smuggle nearly a tonne of cocaine from South America to Scotland hidden in a cargo of bananas is to appeal against his 20-year jail sentence.
Jamie Stevenson, known as "Iceman", received the lengthy prison term last week after pleading guilty to directing the importation of the drug.
The 59-year-old, who was once one of the UK's most wanted men after going on the run, further admitted being involved in organised crime through the production and supply of etizolam, often known as street valium.
Five other members of his gang were also jailed for a total of 29 years at the High Court in Glasgow.
When sentencing Stevenson to two decades behind bars, judge Lord Ericht said: "I am satisfied that the total period of 20 years' imprisonment is fair and proportionate."
However in an update on Tuesday, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service confirmed Stevenson had lodged an appeal against the sentence.
A judge will now consider whether the appeal can be heard.
The cocaine haul was seized by Border Force teams at Dover in September 2020.
The shipment from Ecuador - which contained 952 blocks of cocaine within 119 foil packages - was addressed to a Glasgow fruit merchant.
Operation Pepperoni, an investigation led by Police Scotland and the National Crime Agency (NCA), was closely linked to Operation Venetic, which has seen hundreds of arrests following the infiltration of encrypted communications platform EncroChat.
The authorities estimated the cocaine's value at £100m. However, a lawyer for one of the defendants in the case said the drugs could have achieved "a value of £76m".
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Stevenson was previously jailed in 2007 for money laundering, with his operation likened to hit US television series The Sopranos - which revolved around the escapades of mafia boss Tony Soprano.
Graeme Pearson, then director general of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, told the BBC at the time: "He ran his business in much the same way as the Sopranos ran their business as shown on television."
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Following the discovery of a suspected etizolam pill factory in Kent in June 2020, Stevenson, of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, fled the country.
The banana shipment full of cocaine was then seized three months later while he was on the run.
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Police described him as a "dangerous individual" when he appeared on a list of the UK's most wanted in 2022.
Within weeks of the appeal to find him, he was arrested while out jogging in the Netherlands and was extradited back to Britain to face justice.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said Stevenson and his criminal associates were involved in drug trafficking on an "industrial and global scale".
Kenny Donnelly, deputy Crown agent, said: "It was clear from the EncroChat messages that, as the ringleader, he directed the group.
"The cocaine they were planning to distribute would have undoubtedly contributed to misery in our communities."