Footballers who went underworld as former child prodigies, international stars and semi-professional gang members jailed for drug trafficking

SEVERAL footballers who turned criminal after their sporting careers were prosecuted this year.

From a former Liverpool star to a Dutch international, famous sportsmen have been involved in drug supply schemes, with some even being jailed.

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Here we reveal the former football stars who were wrong-footed by the law…

Jamie Cassidy

Former Liverpool football star Jamie Cassidy, 46, has been jailed for more than 13 years for his involvement in a multi-million pound drug trafficking racket.

Earlier this year, Cassidy was jailed along with two others for involvement in a plot to sell cocaine, involving 356 kilos worth around £26 million.

He was sentenced to 13 years and three months.

His brother Jonathan Cassidy, 50, and another man, Nasar Ahmed, 51, were each jailed for 21 years and nine months.

Jamie Cassidy played for Liverpool FC with Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen and together they won the FA Youth Cup in 1996.

At the age of nine, he was signed by Liverpool and earned one of the sixteen places in the English Football Association’s Champions League competition centre. At the age of fifteen, he became a top scorer for the England under-16 team.

But early in his career he suffered serious injuries which “completely destroyed his career”, his lawyer Paul Greaney KC told Manchester Crown Court.

Jason Pusey

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Former Gibraltar footballer Jason Pusey, 34, was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison at Kingston-Upon-Hull Crown Court on July 2.

The former Atletico Madrid player was jailed after the Metropolitan Police gained access to his Encrochat device during an investigation, uncovering an operation in which south London gangs were selling cocaine and cannabis with an estimated street value of £3million.

Pusey, of Market Weighton, York, was convicted for his role in the supply of 107kg of cocaine, 235kg of ketamine and 447kg of cannabis.

Detective Constable Duncan Askew, leading the investigation on behalf of the Met’s Specialist Crime Team, said: “Pusey arranged ‘large-scale drug deals while also maintaining a respected football career’.

He added: “On the surface he appeared to be a devoted family man, but he made millions by sending controlled drugs to gangs in south London on a commercial scale.

“He did all this without thinking about the misery and destruction that the drug trade in London brings, and the violence that comes with it.

“Operation Eternal investigations over the past three years have led to the Met identifying and capturing key players in the criminal underworld and stemming the flow of drugs and weapons onto the streets.

“The drug trade relies on exploitation and violence to function and we will continue to tirelessly pursue and bring those involved to justice.”

Met detectives closed in on Pusey and began investigating the Encrochat name ‘IrregularFog’ in June 2020.

EncroChat is an encrypted communications network.

Evidence shows that between March 2020 and June 2020, Pusey was the sole user of the encrypted mobile phone EncroChat and was involved in the large-scale distribution of Class A and B drugs.

Passwords matched the names and dates of birth of Pusey’s family members, the locations of the EncroChat phone matched those of his cell phone, and messages on the device matched Pusey’s very specific travel details.

Evidence found on the EncroChat device showed that Pusey had run a highly successful drug trafficking operation.

The EnchroChat device also contained numerous messages regarding the importation of Class A drugs into the UK and the very detailed routes used by various importers and couriers.

Pusey was arrested at his home address on June 20, 2023, and charged with the offences on June 21.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply a Class A drug (cocaine), conspiracy to supply a Class A drug (ketamine) and conspiracy to supply a Class B drug (cannabis) at Kingston-Upon-Hull District Court on Wednesday, 26 July 2023.

Quincy promises

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On September 5 of this year it was announced that former Dutch international Quincy Promes would resume his career in the United Arab Emirates.

He is fighting extradition to the Netherlands after being sentenced in absentia to six years in prison for drug trafficking.

The striker, who played 50 international matches for the Netherlands, is leaving for United FC from Dubai, which plays at the second level, the club announced on social media.

A Dutch court ruled earlier this year that Promes was directly involved in the transport of 1,360 kg of cocaine from Brazil via the port of Antwerp (Belgium) to the Netherlands in two shipments in 2020.

The 32-year-old former Ajax Amsterdam and Sevilla striker was arrested in Dubai in March at the request of the Dutch Public Prosecution Service while he was at a training camp with Russian club Spartak Moscow.

Last year, Promes was also sentenced in absentia to 18 months in prison for assault in connection with a brawl in 2020 in which he stabbed a cousin in the knee.

Promes denies all allegations and has appealed in both cases.

In May, he was released from custody but was given restrictions, including being banned from leaving the United Arab Emirates.

Spartak Moscow terminated his contract at the end of June.

Paul MacDonald

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In November 2023, a former Scotland youth footballer who turned to organised crime was sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of running a large-scale drug trafficking ring.

Former Hearts player Paul MacDonald, then 35, hid thousands of pounds in drugs money in safehouses in Glasgow and told his accomplices in coded text messages that he could make £1.9 million a month from dealing cocaine.

In one message, he claimed he and co-defendant Craig Balloch would “still get a million pounds after the bills were paid”.

Another post showed MacDonald discussing the buying and selling of expensive watches and the purchase of a house in Spain worth £250,000.

MacDonald, who played for Hearts, was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow after pleading guilty to serious organised crime.

Balloch, 30, from Rutherglen, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison after also admitting involvement in serious organised crime.

Sineidin Corrins, Deputy Attorney General for Specialist Casework at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “These two individuals were responsible for the supply of drugs on a large scale.

“They failed to hide the money they made from their crimes.

“They are now serving lengthy prison sentences thanks to a successful prosecution by the COPFS and a comprehensive police operation to tackle and disrupt serious organised crime.

“I hope that these convictions and sentences send a strong message to others involved in this type of criminal behaviour and demonstrate the ability of the police and the prosecution to investigate, prepare and prosecute serious and organised crime of this nature.

“We are targeting all people who pose a threat to communities across Scotland, not just drug couriers but also those who direct their movements.

“The Crown will continue to work with the police and other agencies as a member of the Scottish Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce to ensure that these crimes are uncovered and those responsible are prosecuted using all measures at our disposal.”

The court heard how Balloch convinced one person to allow her home to be used to store large sums of cash as part repayment of a debt the former footballer owed.

When police officers searched the property in April 2020, they discovered £444,560 hidden in bags, envelopes and parcels, while £146,750 was found at a second property.

But MacDonald and Balloch’s illegal plan was foiled after police decoded the encrypted messages and carried out searches at both men’s homes.

Both men would be subject to forfeiture under the proceeds of crime legislation.

Semi-pros

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In May 2024, a gang of semi-professional footballers were jailed for planning to supply £260 million worth of drugs.

Their plan was foiled by police when Luke Skeete, 36, was caught with eight kilos of cocaine in a van.

Officers found 123kg of the drug in storage units in west London. Skeete, of West Drayton, and five others admitted conspiracy to supply at Isleworth Crown Court.

He was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Adam Pepara, 35, Enfield Town centre-back from Solihull, was jailed for 24 years.

Chesham striker Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick, 29, from North Kensington, was jailed for 18 years and nine months.

Jamarl Joseph, 28, from Wembley, who played for FK Senica in Slovakia, was jailed for 17 years and six months.

Andrew Harewood, 34, of Harrow Borough FC from North Acton, was jailed for 16 years.

Melchi Emanuel-Williamson, 29, from North Acton, Margate, was jailed for 14 years.