SENTENCING STATEMENTS

On sentencing, Lord Ericht stated:

JAMES STEVENSON

You have pled guilty to two charges.

Your guilty plea was not tendered until the sixth day of the trial, the first day being the day of the ballot.  In these circumstances I shall not discount your sentence in respect of your plea.

I have given careful consideration to the Criminal Justice Social Work Report and all that has been said on your behalf in mitigation.  You have a previous  conviction for money laundering for which you were sentenced to 12 years and nine months in prison.

Charge 3 is a charge of directing David Bilsland and other to commit a serious offence contrary to sec 30(1)(a) of the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act 2010.  The maximum sentence under that section is 14 years.

You directed a complex operation for the importation and supply of cocaine.  The operation involved cash being provided by you to fund  Mr Bilsland’s apparently legitimate imports.  It also involved removing Mr Bilsland as company director of Glasgow Fruit Market Limited, and registering as a director in his place the name of a vulnerable individual who allowed his signature and identity to be used without having any knowledge of the operation.

Messages show you discussing  with Mr Cross the importation of kilo blocks of cocaine.  They also show you discussing the use of Mr Bilsland, and his business experience and contacts, to provide the appearance of legitimacy.  They also show you discussing the need to start to sending dummy loads.  18 banana consignments were  duly received in Dover.  The last of these contained almost a tonne of cocaine, with a purity of not less that 73% by weight, and with the potential to realise in the region of £76 million.

In respect of charge 3 I sentence you to a period of imprisonment of 12 years, backdated to 9 February 2022, the date of your arrest in the Netherlands.

Charge 8 is a charge of being involved in serious organised crime under sec 28(1) of  the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act 2010 for a period of around two and half months. The maximum sentence under that section is 10 years.

You played a leading role in a complex operation to manufacture and distribute Etizolam tablets, a class C drug.  

The operation included a manufacturing facility in an industrial estate in Rochester.   When the factory was raided police seized almost 13.5 million tablets, with a wholesale value of around £400,000.  The machinery in the factory was capable of manufacturing 258,000 tablets per hour.

You arranged customers  for the sale of the tablets.  In addition you exercised control over aspects of the operation: you assigned Mr Carbin to a different role in the operation, moving him from sales to manufacturing in order to “run it make sure they don’t steal”  You were involved in setting the amount of the wages to be paid to workers in the operation such as Mr McPhee and the person known as naturaljerky. 

In respect of charge 8, I sentence you to a period of imprisonment of 8 years.

Because the cocaine operation and the Etizolam operation were different operations, the sentence for charge 8 will be consecutive to the sentence for charge 3 and I am satisfied that the total period of 20 years imprisonment is fair and proportionate. 

DAVID BILSLAND

You have pled guilty to one charge.

Your guilty plea was not tendered until the sixth day of the trial, the first day being the day of the ballot.  In these circumstances I shall not discount your sentence in respect of your plea.

Charge 4 is a charge of being involved in serious organised crime under sec 28(1) of  the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act 2010.  That is a lesser charge than the charge to which Mr Stevenson pled guilty in respect of the cocaine operation, and carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

I have given careful consideration to the Criminal Justice Social Work Report and all that has been said on your behalf in mitigation.  You are 68 years old, have no previous convictions and have had  a long and successful career in the family fruit business and have made a substantive contribution to the good of the community.

You, and your business contacts and experience, were used by Mr Stevenson to provide the appearance of legitimacy to the cocaine operation.   You met with Mr Stevenson in Spain.  You arranged for the importation of the banana consignments, including the one which contained the cocaine.  One of your primary roles was to engage in email and telephone communication with the shipping lines, port authorities and others involved in legitimate importation.  

In view of your lack of previous convictions, I sentence you to a period of imprisonment of 6 years, backdated to 29 August 2024.

LLOYD CROSS

You have pled guilty to one charge. 

The guilty plea was agreed on 24 July, around a fortnight before the start of the trial, and tendered on the day after the ballot.  Discussions had been ongoing since the preliminary hearing stage.

Charge 4 is a charge of being involved in serious organised crime under sec 28(1) of the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act 2010, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

I have given careful consideration to the Criminal Justice Social Work Report and all that has been said on your behalf in mitigation.  You own a vehicle recovery business.  You have a previous High Court conviction for aggravated assault. 

You  had a significant role in the  cocaine operation, relaying Mr Stevenson’s instructions to Mr Bilsland and passing back updates to Mr Stevenson.  You provided cash to fund the apparently legitimate imports.  In person meetings took place between you and Mr Stevenson in the park behind your home.  Vehicles from your recovery business were used to collect and deliver cash to finance the operation.

Had you not pled guilty at the start of the trial,  I would have sentenced you to  a period of imprisonment of 7 years.  In view of your guilty plea, the period of the sentence will be  6 years.  The sentence will be backdated to 19 July 2024, which takes into account the 19 days spent in custody after your arrest in Spain.

GERARD CARBIN 

You have pled guilty to one charge.

Your guilty plea was not tendered until the fifth day of the trial.  In these circumstances I shall not discount your sentence in respect of your plea.

Charge 8 is a charge of being involved in serious organised crime under sec 28(1) of  the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act 2010. The maximum sentence under that section is 10 years.

I have given careful consideration to the Criminal Justice Social Work Report and all that has been said on your behalf in mitigation.   You have a previous  conviction for moneylaundering for which you were sentenced to five years and six months in prison.

You had significant involvement in the Etizolam operation. 

You were involved in arranging onward supply of tablets  and sales, and were then asked by Mr Stevenson to take on a role in manufacturing.  You gave instructions to Mr McPhee.  Following the police raid on the factory, and the arrest of Mr Stevenson, you made arrangements for the wiping of Mr Stevenson’s encrochat devices.

I sentence you to a period of imprisonment of 7 years, backdated to 28 August 2024

PAUL BOWES

You have pled guilty to one charge.

Your guilty plea was not tendered until the sixth day of the trial.  In these circumstances I shall not discount your sentence in respect of your plea.

Charge 8 is a charge of being involved in serious organised crime under sec 28(1) of  the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act 2010. The maximum sentence under that section is 10 years.

Your convictions are few and minor and I place no weight on them.

I have given careful consideration to the Criminal Justice Social Work Report and all that has been said on your behalf in mitigation. 

You had significant involvement in the Etizolam operation.  You took delivery of large quantities of tablets and assessed them for quality control.  You arranged delivery of 500,000 tablets to a person known as hollowbutter.  A London flat used in the operation was indirectly leased by you.

I sentence you to a period of imprisonment of 6 years, backdated to 29 April 2022, the date of your arrest in Spain.

RYAN MCPHEE

You have pled guilty to one charge.

Your guilty plea was not tendered until the fifth day of the trial.  In these circumstances I shall not discount your sentence in respect of your plea.

Charge 8 is a charge of being involved in serious organised crime under sec 28(1) of  the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act 2010. The maximum sentence under that section is 10 years.

Your role in the Etizolam operation was an important one, that is to take delivery of and store large quantities of pills.  You agreed to take delivery of 2.5 million pills and transport them by van.  You were then advised by Mr Carbin that “we have the full job going forward” at 10 million tablets per time.  You delivered one million tablets to a person called trustytooth.  Another delivery Mr Carbin discussed with you was for 5 million tablets.

I have given careful consideration to the Criminal Justice Social Work Report and all that has been said on your behalf in mitigation.  You are a family man with a good employment and business history and no previous convictions.  

However despite all  of that you became involved with serious organised crime in the Etizolam operation.  The delivery to trustytooth was not meant to be a one-off: you were to take delivery and store large quantities of pills and would have done so but for the police raid on the factory.  Although Etizolam is a Class C drug, the large quantities with which you were involved means that there is no alternative to a custodial sentence.

I sentence you to a period of imprisonment of 4 years backdated to 28 August 2024.