They Tried to Smuggle £1.5 Million Worth of Weed Into Scotland Inside Watermelons — It Didn’t End Well
In one of the strangest smuggling attempts in recent memory, two men tried to bring £1.5 million worth of cannabis into Scotland — by hiding it inside crates of watermelons.
Scott McSeveney, 37, and Steven Lawson, 48, both from Shotts, likely thought they had found the perfect cover. But instead of pulling off a smooth operation, they ended up with a combined prison sentence of over 13 years.
Their plan? Smuggle a massive load of cannabis from Spain to Scotland, using a legitimate HGV lorry filled with watermelon cases. On June 24, 2020, Lawson — the driver — left Benicassim, Spain, and headed toward the UK through the Eurotunnel, claiming he was simply hauling fruit.
But Border Force officers at Coquelles port in France weren’t buying it. After scanning and searching the truck, they uncovered 159 vacuum-sealed bags of cannabis, hidden within 30 pallets of watermelons. In total, the haul weighed 155 kilograms and was valued at over £1.5 million on the street.
The smuggling operation fell apart quickly after that. Investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA) had already been monitoring messages on EncroChat, a now-defunct encrypted messaging app used by criminal networks. McSeveney, operating under the handle frank.n.furter, had been exchanging messages about moving large quantities of cannabis and cocaine, using test runs, discussing concealment tactics, and even commenting on how much illegal activity he could hide behind his “legitimate” company.
Chats confirmed McSeveney had enlisted Lawson to do the driving. Despite Lawson denying any knowledge of the drugs, the evidence told a different story. He was arrested at the border, and McSeveney was picked up at his home in Scotland later that day.
Last month, McSeveney pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of a Class B drug, while Lawson was convicted of being involved in serious and organised crime following a trial.
This week, McSeveney was sentenced to eight years and two months, and Lawson received five years in prison.
“McSeveney sent thousands of messages trying to get this criminal venture off the ground,” said NCA Operations Manager Donald Lawrie. “Thanks to cooperation across multiple agencies, we stopped them in their tracks.”
Officials from the Crown Office, Police Scotland, and Border Force all echoed the success of the operation, stressing the damage this quantity of drugs could’ve done to communities across Scotland.
“These drugs would have caused immense harm,” said Sineidin Corrins of the Crown Office. “But with these convictions, we’ve made communities safer.”
Detective Superintendent Steven Elliot added: “Drugs cause misery in our communities, and we will continue to use all available resources to stop the trade.”
For McSeveney and Lawson, a criminal scheme that started with fruit crates ended with steel bars.
