Two jailed over bid to smuggle drugs in watermelon boxes

Steven Lawson has been jailed for five years for his part in the smuggling operation

Two men who plotted to smuggle £1.5m of cannabis hidden in boxes of watermelons have been jailed for a total of more than 13 years.

Scott McSeveney, 37, recruited Steven Lawson, 48, to ferry the drugs into the UK from Spain via a "sophisticated scheme".

But the trafficking plan was halted when Lawson was stopped by Border Force officers on his way back to Scotland at the Eurotunnel port in Coquelles, France.

The pair were sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow.

159 packages of herbal cannabis were discovered among boxes of watermelons

McSeveney, of Shotts, North Lanarkshire, pled guilty last month to being concerned in the supply of cannabis.

He was previously jailed for three-and-a-half years for an attack on a police officer during riots on the night of the Rangers v Zenit St Petersburg UEFA Cup Final in Manchester in May 2008.

McSeveney was sentenced to eight years and two months for the drugs plot.

First-offender Lawson, of Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, was convicted after a trial of being involved in serious organised crime.

He was jailed for five years by Lord Colbeck.

The judge said the pair had been part of "a sophisticated scheme in an attempt to import drugs into the UK".

The shipment of cannabis was described by a senior Police Scotland officer as the largest amount he had ever encountered.

Online messages discussed crime

The force had been probing a crime gang planning to smuggle narcotics using HGVs.

It resulted in McSeveney being put under surveillance in April 2020.

During this time he was regularly seen at the yard of Lawson's haulage firm MCL Transport Scotland in Bellshill, Lanarkshire.

McSeveney also sent messages on the EncroChat phone network favoured by criminals before it was hacked into by French and Dutch law authorities.

He had the handle "frank.n.furter" and discussed cocaine, cannabis and how to conceal the drugs.

Prosecutor Jennifer Cameron said McSeveney and other EncroChat users discussed how to transport drugs securely in an HGV.

The drugs were seized after searches of boxes in the back of a lorry

During exchanges with associates, McSeveney spoke about "the type of legitimate load" needed to hide drugs in a lorry and referred to the driver as being the "owner" of MCL Transport.

Miss Cameron said other comments and messages also pointed to Lawson as being the individual.

The mob eventually secured the help of a "friendly" Spanish-based fruit supplier to assist with the drug trafficking, including fake paperwork to cross international borders.

On 23 July 2020 Lawson set off from Lanarkshire and two days later arrived at the beach resort of Benicassim, near Valencia,.

There 155kg of herbal cannabis was loaded onto the HGV among pallets of watermelons.

But on 30 July Lawson was halted by Border Force officials at the Eurotunnel in Coquelles, near Calais, where officers detected an "anomaly" with the load in the trailer.

They then discovered 159 packages of herbal cannabis in the boxes which were described as carrying watermelons.

If sold in the smallest street deals the drugs were believed to have a value of around £1.5m.

The bogus delivery note said the watermelons were to be delivered to a company based in London, but the owner of the firm later confirmed he had never placed such an order and had not heard of MCL Transport.

Officers also recovered £2,320 wrapped in cloth and an encrypted phone in the HGV.

Drugs would have caused 'immense harm'

Lawson gave evidence during his trial and claimed to have been unwittingly caught up in the crime.

He said his lorry had been loaded by others in Spain and he believed it to be fruit destined for the UK.

Murray Macara KC said it could be suggested the delivery note his client had was "a fabrication and a front" to help pass border control.

Lawson further refuted claims by the prosecutor that his finances were "dire" at the time despite him owing numerous people money.

The court heard that Lawson maintained his innocence.

Tony Lenehan KC, for McSeveney, said he was not "a leading light" in the gang but admitted he played a major role in the drug smuggling plot.

In September 2010, McSeveney was found guilty of being involved in an attack on PC John Goodwin amid the UEFA Cup Final mayhem two years earlier.

Sineidin Corrins, the depute procurator fiscal for serious casework at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: "These two men were integral to an attempt to import large quantities of Class B drugs into Scotland.

"But they failed thanks to partnership working between COPFS and the National Crime Agency, Border Force and Police Scotland to disrupt a network of drugs supply.

"These drugs would have caused immense harm. But with these convictions, we have removed them from the streets and made communities safer."