Football starlet became kingpin of huge drug ring

A FORMER football prodigy has been jailed after organising the distribution of hundreds of kilos of cocaine across the UK - including Greater Manchester - in one of the largest drug rackets ever encountered.

- AMY WALKER

Jamie Cassidy, now 46, an ex-Liverpool FC youth star, previously admitted his part in the multi-million pound drug operation, which shipped industrial amounts of cocaine from South America into Europe.

Led by his older brother Jonathan Cassidy, 50, alongside his business partner Nasar Ahmed, 51, the gang transported up to 356 kilos of the class A drug, with an estimated street value of £26 million, in modified vehicles.

Once the cocaine landed in the UK, Jamie Cassidy distributed it across the country through a network of couriers.

Now the three have been jailed for a combined total of 55 years after admitting their role in the operation.

Jamie Cassidy previously played alongside Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen, and won the FA Youth Cup in 1996 while playing for Liverpool's youth team. Liverpool beat a West Ham team which included future England stars Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard.

But Jamie, a midfielder, was released without making a first team appearance after a series of injuries. He later signed for Cambridge United before playing for non-league sides.

In his 2008 autobiography, Jamie Carragher said Cassidy "would have been a certain Liverpool regular if he hadn't suffered so much with injuries".

Jamie Cassidy was arrested following the law enforcement infiltration of the encrypted EncroChat messaging system used by criminals.

Prosecuting, Richard Wright KC told Manchester Crown Court that the men used the devices to arrange their deals across the North of England.

They also moved up to £10 million in cash in the space of three months by way of money laundering.

Jamie Cassidy, whose username was 'Nuclear-Dog, directed a team of drug dealers who sold the cocaine to various customers in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Glasgow, Mr Wright said.

"The first importation occurred in early March 2020," the prosecutor said.