Police have released a mugshot of Jamie 'Iceman' Stevenston after he admitted masterminding a worldwide multi-million pound drug cartel.
The kingpin and five other men have admitted conspiring to flood Scotland with around £100million of cocaine which was smuggled into the United Kingdom from South America.
Today (Thursday, August 29), Jamie Stevenson, 59, David Bilsland, 68, and Paul Bowes, 53, pleaded 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 pleaded guilty earlier in the trial.
READ MORE: Jamie 'Iceman' Stevenson guilty of running global drug smuggling ring
We reported how around a tonne of cocaine with an estimated value of £100million was discovered during a joint operation by Police Scotland and the National Crime Agency (NCA) at Dover in England.
The huge amount of drugs was concealed within a consignment of bananas.
The seizure of 119 packages of Class A drugs, which had arrived at the port on a vessel from Ecuador in South America, was made by Organised Crime Partnership officers, assisted by specialist Border Force search teams.
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After that, searches were then subsequently carried out at properties in Scotland and England and the accused were identified.
Police say the investigation was closely linked to Operation Venetic - which is the most 'significant' operation into serious and organised crime involving Police Scotland, the NCA, and police forces across the United Kingdom.
The massive operation has seen hundreds of arrests following the infiltration of the encrypted communications platform used by criminals.
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Crime boss Stevenston fled the country and was arrested in February 2022 in the south of the Netherlands by Police Scotland, NCA, and international law enforcement.
Meanwhile, 27-year-old Lewis Connor was caged for three years in July after the same investigation found encrypted phone messages which proved he had set fire to properties and vehicles across Central Scotland.
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 prevented a massive haul of drugs from 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 a 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.”
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