Scottish kingpin Jamie Stevenson emulated the US TV mobster Tony Soprano by trying to flee down an embankment when cops swooped to arrest him.
And the mobster – jailed today for 20 years for masterminding a huge drug smuggling operation – believed he was being assassinated by a rival gang when plain clothed officers homed in.
The Daily Record can reveal that Stevenson – who has been dubbed “Scotland’s Tony Soprano” – made a break for freedom as he sensed officers closing in while sitting at an outdoor cafe area at the posh Sherbrooke Castle Hotel in Glasgow on June 12, 2020.
Stevenson, known in Scotland as “Iceman” jumped over a fence but fell in an undignified heap to the bottom of an embankment, where he was handcuffed by under-cover officers wearing trademark baseball caps.
In HBO drama The Sopranos, mob leader Tony Soprano also fell down an embankment when the FBI came to arrest him – but the character, played by James Gandolfini, managed to escape.
Agents of the crack National Crime Agency and Police Scotland’s organised crime squad reported that Stevenson was initially terrified that he could be shot – then relieved that he was only being arrested.
The godfather figure believed he would have the last laugh after he absconded to Spain soon afterwards, before heading to the Netherlands.
But he was arrested yet again – while out jogging in 2022- and finally brought to justice with the long sentence handed out at Glasgow High Court today.
Gerry Mclean, the NCA’s Regional Head of Investigations, said the arrest of Stevenson, provoked a flight response from the gangster that would have involved immediate fears of a gangland hit.
He said: “I’m sure when he’s seen plain clothes officers come towards him, would be that split second decision about what the intention is police sort of what those police officers and clean clothes were doing.
“I think it was somewhat relieved to find it was being arrested rather than shot, – which we have been greater harm to him and a bit more immediate.
“Often the safest situation for these criminals is when they’ve been targeted by law enforcement and maybe not some of their adversaries or people that they’ve got other tensions with, whether it be through drug wars, turf or whatever, and about that.”
But he said Stevenson would have immediately been made aware that he was under arrest.
He added: “Our officers, even if they’re wearing plain clothes, will use unique indicators of who they bare, wearing baseball caps and the like.
“So he was he knew who the officers were that were coming to get him and arrest him. He did try to run away, but he was quickly arrested.”
Despite the Sherbrooke Hotel being closed in June, 2020, due to lockdown – Stevenson had cheekily been using the hotel’s outdoor tables to meet an associate.
Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Ferry, Police Scotland’s Head of Organised Crime said: “You never know what to expect when you go to arrest somebody.
“When you’re when you’re working and living in that level of environment, criminals tend to be hyper, hyper alert, to traditional surveillance,.
“There are occupational hazards such as getting arrested or actually coming to some form of harm from some rival. So it’s not unusual for them to run for both reasons.”
One witness to the arrest said they had no idea who was being arrested – until the Daily Record spoke to them yesterday.
They said: “There was a commotion on Sherbrooke Avenue, when several cars all arrived at the same time and there was a lot of shouting.
“So we know there was an arrest but it never clicked who it was. The hotel was shut, so it would have been a bit cheeky for someone to use the facilities.”
Jamie Stevenson and five gang members all admitted drugs charges at the High Court in Glasgow.
Stevenson, 59, pleaded guilty on Day 5 of the trial to directing a trafficking operation spanning the UK, Spain, Ecuador and a resort in Abu Dhabi.
He admitted two charges – of directing a serious criminal offence of importation of cocaine, and of being involved in organised crime through the production and supply of etizolam, often known as street Valium.
His not guilty pleas to the remaining charges were accepted by the Crown.
Stevenson admitted two charges – of directing a serious criminal offence of importation of cocaine, and of being involved in organised crime through the production and supply of etizolam, often known as street Valium.
Co-accused Paul Bowes, 53, pleaded guilty to a charge of being involved in organised crime by being involved in the production and supply of Class C drug etizolam at a string of premises including the Nurai Island Resort in Abu Dhabi, in London and Rochester, Kent.
Fruit market trader David Bilsland, 67, entered a guilty plea to a charge of agreeing to import cocaine.
Stevenson’s son-in-law Gerard Carbin, 44, and Ryan McPhee, 34, admitted being involved in organised crime through the production and supply of etizolam.
Lloyd Cross, 32, entered a guilty plea on the first day of the trial, admitting involvement in the cocaine shipment.
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