Police found £1m stashed in plastic Lidl bags, court hears

The jury in a drug trafficking trial has been told police found £1m stashed in plastic Lidl bags during a raid in Glasgow’s Robroyston.

Six men are accused of involvement in an international cocaine trafficking ring that saw the illegal drug smuggled into the UK hidden in banana boxes – they deny all the charges.

The High Court in Glasgow heard a joint minute of agreed evidence that stated a home in Robroyston was found to contain £1.15m in cash on April 23, 2020.

Police found a total of £996,060 of the cash was kept in heat sealed plastic packages inside four Lidl supermarket bags.

The DNA and thumb prints of Stephen O’Donnell were found on some of the bags and a search of his home found a furrther £76,320 in cash.

O’Donnell pled guilty to possession of criminal property of £1,092,290 and received a two-year prison sentence.

James Stevenson, 59, is accused of masterminding a worldwide drug smuggling ring and is said to have directed a trafficking and money laundering operation which spanned the UK, Spain, Ecuador and the luxury Nurai Island resort in Abu Dhabi.

Prosecutors have listed a total of 14 charges in a seven page indictment of accusations which span between January and September 2020.

Stevenson denies the crimes and has blamed others, including a man who was jailed for six years for dealing cocaine, in his special defence.

The joint minute of agreement states that John Gurie was detained after being stopped by police in his car on April 21, 2020.

His home in East Kilbride was searched where cash and three blocks of high-purity cocaine were found.

A search of Gurie’s van parked outside a lockup garage recovered 11kg of high-purity cocaine.

A video of the search shown in court showed officers discovering a void beneath the van’s floor, referred to as a “hide”, operated by a hydraulic system. Within the space, they found a number of packages.

Inside the lockup, officers found a hydraulic press used to bind together powdered adulterated drugs.

The document states that Gurie pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine in September 2021 and received six years imprisonment.

In footage shown to the jury, a black taped block with the number 39 could be seen. This was later claimed by a police to be similar to a picture of a package recovered from an encrypted EncroChat phone.

Detective constable Eddie Mather, 52, and prosecutor Alex Prentice KC went through a number of recovered conversations between EncroChat users.

The usernames “SurrealKey” and “AquaticRing” were stated to belong to Gurie.

Gurie’s pertained account was seen to chat to other users such as “EvasiveAle”, “Epic Fortress”, “PatrolStaff” and “MRRCeltic” which included the purchasing and collecting of drugs.

Drug code phrases such as “tops” for cocaine and “paper” for money were seen in some conversations.

Gurie’s alleged account was also seen to be in conversation with PatrolStaff in May 2020 after the raids on his property and van.

He said: “Got van back, van was f***ing ripped to bits. Front passenger seat panels ripped off. C***s.”

PatrolStaff advised Gurie’s alleged account to plead guilty to being a drug courier for one day and state that it was his first time.

Stevenson faces a charge which states cocaine was to be “concealed in deliveries of fruit” destined for the “Glasgow Fruit Market” at an address in city’s Townhead.

Stevenson, David Bilsland and 43 year-old Garry McIntyre are alleged to be involved in “serious organised crime”.

Stevenson and Gerard Carbin, 45, are said to have directed Paul Bowes, 53, Ryan McPhee, 34, and another individual to take part in the production and supply of street Valium and the tranquilliser Alprazolam.

They deny all the charges.

A further charge claims Stevenson was involved in serious organised crime with a person now said to be in prison.

The final charge claims Stevenson conspired with others to set fire to a number of properties and cars including a beauty salon in Hamilton, Lanarkshire.

Further special defences of incrimination have been lodged by Stevenson against three other men, including one whose present whereabouts are unknown.

The trial continues before Judge Lord Ericht.