SENTENCING STATEMENTS

On sentencing, Lord Colbeck said:

"Steven Lawson, on 4 April 2025 you were convicted by a jury of a charge of being involved in serious organised crime, contrary to s.28(1) of the Criminal Justice & Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010.

Scott McSeveney, on 20 March 2025, at the commencement of the trial, before a jury was balloted, you pled guilty to a charge of being concerned in the supply of cannabis, contrary to s.4(3)(b) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971; that offence being aggravated by a connection with serious organised crime.

Between 28 March and 30 July 2020 you were each involved, in differing ways, in an attempt to import controlled drugs into the United Kingdom for onward supply, using heavy goods vehicles.

155 kgs of cannabis was seized by Border Force officers. The drugs seized were valued at approximately £604,200, on the hypothesis that they were sold as one kilogram weight packages. If sub-divided into smaller amounts, significantly more could have been realised. The evidence in the trial suggests that the street value of the drugs would have been in the order of £1.5 million.

The shipment of cannabis was described by the most senior Police Scotland STOP officer in the West of Scotland as the largest he had ever given evidence in relation to in his many years of service in that role.

Steven Lawson, you are 48 years of age. You appear before this court as a first offender.

Scott McSeveney, you are 37 years of age. You have nine previous convictions from between 2007 and 2019, none of which are analogous to the offence you pled guilty to.

In determining the headline sentence I am first required to assess the seriousness of the present offence.

The seriousness of an offence is determined by two things: the culpability of the offender and the harm caused, or which might have been caused, by the offence. As either or both culpability and harm increase, so may the seriousness of the offence.

In assessing culpability, the court requires to assess the blameworthiness of the offender at the time of committing the offence. Relevant to the assessment of culpability in this case is the fact that you each participated in a sophisticated scheme in an attempt to import controlled drugs in to the United Kingdom – a scheme that involved significant planning and included the use of encrypted mobile phones in an, ultimately vain, attempt to avoid detection.

There is here what can only be described as a high degree of culpability.

An offence will, generally, be regarded as more serious the greater the amount of harm. The potential harm that might have been occasioned had you succeeded in importing such a large quantity of cannabis is, on any view, very significant.

I turn to consider the aggravating and mitigating factors present in this case.

In terms of aggravating factors, in the case of Mr McSeveney I have regard to the statutory aggravation and to your previous convictions.

There is little if anything by way of mitigation in this case, although I have regard to all that is contained within the criminal justice social work reports the court has in relation to each of you; and to all that has been said on your behalf today.

In your case Mr McSeveney, I take account of the references that have been provided on your behalf; and the report produced and of what has been said in relation to the injuries you sustained in an accident in 2021 and the apparent consequences of that. I am, however, required to proceed on the well-established understanding that you will receive all necessary and appropriate medical care while you are in custody. That applies equally to the medical condition I am told Mr Lawson has.

The gravity of the charges you have been convicted of and have pled guilty to are such that there is no other method of dealing with each of you than by the imposition of a lengthy custodial sentence.

Such sentences are necessary to meet the sentencing purposes of protection of the public; punishment; and expressing disapproval of your offending behaviour.

Steven Lawson

The offence you have been convicted of carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

I accept that you played a lesser role in the attempted importation, and that you were under the direction of others, likely due to the financially perilous position you found yourself in at the time.

You will go to prison for a period of 5 years.

That sentence will run from 4 April 2025, the date upon which you were first remanded in custody in relation to this matter.

Scott McSeveney

The offence you have been convicted of carries a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment.

The agreed narrative in your case sets out the fact that while there were clearly some who had a higher role, you played a leading role in this particular operation.

In your case, and having regard to your particular circumstances, the appropriate headline sentence is one of 9 years imprisonment. No part of that headline figure is attributed to the serious organised crime aggravation. I have taken into account that aspect of your offending in arriving at the headline sentences. You are, however, entitled to credit for your plea of guilty, albeit it only came at a trial diet.

You will go to prison for a period of 8 years and 2 months.

That sentence will run from 20 March 2025, the date upon which you were first remanded in custody in relation to this matter.

In addition, I will make serious crime prevention orders in respect of each of you in the agreed terms."