WHAT A PAIR!: Duo jailed after £1.5M of weed was found hidden in fruit lorry from Spain – CSN

TWO drug smugglers who tried to sneak more than £1.5 million worth of cannabis into Scotland disguised as a watermelon shipment from Spain have been thrown behind bars.

Scott McSeveney, 37, and his partner-in-crime, HGV driver Steven Lawson, 48, have been jailed after cops caught them red-handed trying to flood Scotland’s streets with Class B drugs – using watermelons as a cover.

The scheme, which was not so sweet, was discovered in June 2020 by Border Force officers who spotted Lawson’s lorry as it arrived at Coquelles Port after a recent trip to Spain.

He claimed that he had only been hauling fruits. What was inside? A staggering 159 kilos of cannabis stuffed between the melons – with a street value topping £1.5 million.

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McSeveney, from Shotts, had been hatching the plan using encrypted chat app EncroChat under the handle ‘frank.n.furter’. He sent hundreds of shady messages about drug runs, dodgy drop-offs, and even how much crime he could sneak through his ‘legit’ business before the taxman caught on.

The cannabis courier even debated whether to stash the gear in the cab or trailer –  before enlisting Lawson, from Motherwell, to drive the dodgy load back to the UK.

But the organised crime duo’s high hopes went up in smoke after a major joint operation between the National Crime Agency (NCA), Police Scotland, and Border Force officers – part of the UK-wide crackdown known as Operation Venetic, launched after EncroChat was hacked by cops.

McSeveney’s home was burglarized on the day that the melon truck was intercepted. Lawson was arrested in the port, where he denied having any knowledge of the drugs.

A Glasgow High Court judge did not buy the story of watermelon. Lawson received a five-year sentence this week. McSeveney, who admitted his involvement in the plot, was given an eight-year and two-month sentence.

Donald Lawrie, NCA chief, said that McSeveney & Lawson were members of an organized crime network that was determined to smuggle large quantities of drugs into Scotland. But our teams, along with Border Force Scotland and Police Scotland stopped them right in their tracks.

Detective Superintendent Steven Elliot, Police Scotland:

“Drugs cause misery in our communities – we will use every weapon in our arsenal to disrupt and dismantle these operations. This haul is only one example of how determined we are.”

The Crown Office also praised the ‘strong partnership’ behind the bust, saying Scotland’s streets are safer with the pair off them behind bars.