Jamie 'Iceman' Stevenson's right-hand man dubbed himself 'top boy' of Rangers ultras

Gangster Lloyd Cross went from football hooligan to international cocaine smuggler alongside one of Scotland’s biggest criminal kingpins.

The rabble rouser styled himself as a “top boy” among Rangers fan group Union Bears, and he was involved in clashes with police in Slovenia in 2018. But he was sidelined from the “ultra” group after his gangland connections became common knowledge and his focus turned towards the international drugs racket.

A major drug bust revealed Cross, 32, to be the right-hand man of Jamie “Iceman” Stevenson, who masterminded the smuggling of £76million worth of cocaine from South America in 2020.

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Cross had also fallen foul of Rangers fans after he was blamed for the leaking of the wording of a banner in 2017 to the rival Green Brigade – which allowed the Celtic ultras to mock their opponents.

One source told the Daily Record: “Cross saw himself as a top boy in the Rangers support, always at the front of the crowd at away games and always on the look-out for bother. He was the kind who’d revel in a riot.

“He also had a high profile on Twitter and was known for noising up Celtic fans.

“But all that stopped, presumably when he stepped into the big time in drugs smuggling. He disappeared from Twitter and most traces of him disappeared from social media.

“It is obvious someone had a word with him about his profile. Cross was a blingy, flashy guy with a big mouth and half of Glasgow knew he was connected to Jamie Stevenson because he’s known him most of his life.

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“He drew attention, including that of the police, as there would have been an extensive intelligence file on him.

“It wasn’t good from either the mob side or the ultra fan side that he had a public profile, as both are very aware of surveillance.

“But even when he appeared at the High Court in Glasgow he drove a Porsche, which sums him up. He’s a guy who liked to be seen to be wealthy and splashing cash.”

In August 2018, photos and video showed conflict between police and Rangers fans in Maribor, Slovenia, ahead of a Europa League match, with Cross in attendance. Footage showed baton-wielding officers charging into crowds of fans, with some backing off and others taking an apparently hostile stance.

Cross was revealed as a key lieutenant of Stevenson in the plot to bring £76million of cocaine to Scotland from Ecuador in banana boxes. He used his vehicle recovery firm, LM Recovery, to facilitate the movement of drugs in the UK.

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He also held directorships of other companies that gave him the appearance, on paper, of a successful businessman.

Cross, who drove to court in a Porsche Cayenne, pled guilty to being involved in the operation run by Stevenson, 59, between January and September 2020. The gang included Gerry Carbin, 45, Ryan McPhee, 34, and Paul Bowes, 53.

Fruit merchant David Bilsland, 67, was also conscripted into the gang by the offer of a huge cash payment to receive drugs boxed up as bananas at the Glasgow Fruit Market. Bilsland was revealed to be closely liaising with Cross to facilitate the safe passage of the drugs.

But the consignment was always going to get the crooks in hot water – as police had cracked the encrypted Encrochat mobile phone system they used.

During the probe, Stevenson was heard boasting of how his worldwide drug smuggling ring would rake in “life-changing” amounts of money. Stevenson admitted masterminding a global trafficking network after authorities uncovered almost a tonne of cocaine.

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Border Force teams seized the Class A drug after discovering it during the search of a container vessel which docked at the Port of Dover in September 2020. A narrative read out to the High Court in Glasgow made clear Cross was directing Bilsland in the vital Glasgow end of the banana shipments.

Prosecutor Alex Prentice told how 18 banana consignments were received in Dover. The 18th, on September 21, 2020, was searched by Border Force officers and found to contain £76million worth of cocaine.

Stevenson pled guilty to directing others to commit a serious offence and being involved in serious organised crime, while Bilsland admitted cocaine smuggling.

Carbin pled guilty to being involved in serious organised crime involving etizolam tablets between March and June 2020. McPhee and Bowes, 53, pled guilty on identical terms.

Cross also admitted being involved in serious organised crime. Judge Lord Ericht deferred sentencing on all six men until next month.