Former Liverpool FC prodigy jailed for role in major drug ring

Ex-Liverpool youth player Jamie Cassidy was "drawn in" to crime by his old brother, a court heard

A former Liverpool football prodigy has been jailed for more than 13 years for his role in a major drugs conspiracy.

Jamie Cassidy, 46, was sentenced alongside his brother Jonathan Cassidy, 50, who played a leading role importing and dealing cocaine across England.

The younger Cassidy brother had played alongside Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher in Liverpool FC's youth team before injuries "wrecked his career".

The gang's operation was said to be worth about £26m.

A third man, 51-year-old Nasar Ahmed, was also sentenced for his role in the drugs operation at Manchester Crown Court.

Jonathan Cassidy and Ahmed both received 21 years and nine months in jail.

All three men had been held in custody since 2020, when they were arrested after law enforcement agencies compromised the encrypted phone system called EncroChat.

Jonathan Cassidy and Ahmed had pleaded guilty to importing drugs in April and March 2020.

The two, along with Jamie Cassidy, also admitted conspiracy to supply drugs and conspiracy to transfer criminal property.

The gang dealt 356kg of cocaine that had been imported from Holland

One-time England youth top scorer, Jamie Cassidy played alongside the likes of Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen. The Liverpool FC side they were part of won the FA Youth Cup in 1996.

But the midfielder suffered injuries early in his career, leaving Anfield after being released without making a first-team appearance.

Paul Greeney KC, defending Cassidy, said he was a footballer of "exceptional talent and promise", but injuries had "entirely wrecked his career".

'Significant role'

The court heard how he had been "drawn in" to crime by his older brother Jonathan, who likened himself to Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman, or El Chapo, one of the world's most infamous traffickers.

Earlier, Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, told the court the younger brother played a "significant role" in the operation, passing on instructions and acting on the direction of others to ensure operations went smoothly and the drugs were distributed to dealers.

The older brother oversaw the importation and the buying and selling of class A drugs while Ahmed acted as a middleman and "facilitator", transferring vast sums of cash to buy and sell on drugs, the court heard.

Drugs were imported from Holland and used to supply users in north-west England, Birmingham and Leeds.

Nasar Ahmed and Jonathan Cassidy were both jailed for 21 years and nine months

After police took down the EncroChat system used by Jonathan Cassidy to communicate, he left for Dubai.

After a wave of arrests, Cassidy began to believe he was one of the "lucky ones" whose EncroChat had not been compromised and so returned to the UK, where he arrested and charged later in 2020.

Jonathan Cassidy had compared himself to a Mexican drug lord

Police found at his home in Whitewood Park, Liverpool, £24,430 in cash, a United Arab Emirates residence card and driving licence, large amounts of designer clothing and a Rolex perpetual watch worth around £250,000.

Ahmed had been arrested at his property in Bury, while Jamie Cassidy was arrested at his home in Knowsley, Merseyside.

While searching the property, officers found an encrypted phone, a black machete and a police case summary of a drugs operation they were running.

While Jonathan Cassidy and Ahmed had previous convictions for serious offences, Jamie Cassidy had a single conviction for shoplifting 18 years ago.

All three were jailed at Manchester Crown Court for involvement in the cocaine drugs operation, dealing 356kg of the drug, worth around £26 million, with £10 million in cash changing hands in the space of three months.

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