Ex-football star JAILED for 14 years over ‘significant role' in record £2.36million crystal meth haul

The Sun

20 hours ago

A FORMER football star who was caught with millions of pounds worth of crystal meth has been jailed for 14 years.
Michael Boateng, who began his youth career at Crystal Palace, was arrested on Valentine's Day last year after police found 19.7kg of the Class A drug in a sports bag at a flat he shared with his girlfriend and infant son.
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A court ruled he played a "significant role" in an organised crime group as the former footballer was sent down for more than a decade.
The 34-year-old - who had become a successful personal trainer after his playing career, with clients including England star Jadon Sancho - admitted to supplying crystal meth, cocaine and MDMA at Croydon Crown Court in September.
Boateng, donning a blue prison t-shirt and grey tracksuit bottoms, sat motionless as the judge read out his sentence.
His girlfriend - who is the mum to the pair's now 18-month-old son - shook her head in disbelief as the sentence was confirmed.
Croydon Crown Court head on June 20 how Boateng had been "doing well" while working as a personal trainer between 2018 and 2023.
However, he was issued with an Osman Warning from the Metropolitan Police in 2022 - a warning which indicates an immediate threat to one's life.
Representing the defence, Paul Crampin told the court how Boateng was informed of a "credible threat against his life".
This then caused his partner at the time to "essential refuse him access to their family".
After "cutting him off completely from his son", Boateng suffered from a period of stress and depression, Crampin said.
He added that this led to drug use, including Class A substances, with Crampin saying he was then "involved in the small scale supply of drugs to essentially people he knew".
This was done to "fund his own Class A drug habit", the defence said.
Boateng was stopped by police officers in Bromley, south London, in September 2023 after acting suspiciously.
He then ran from the cops down a dead-end road before a dog unit found a snap bag - which had been thrown over a garden wall - containing 19 wraps of cocaine.
John Carmichael, prosecuting, told the court how a search of Boateng's flat in Croydon found 14 additional wraps of cocaine, 32 tablets of MDMA and one block of 22 grams of MDMA.
The overall street value of the cocaine and MDMA stood at between £3,000 and £4,180, the court heard.
Cops also found 26 bags of ketamine, with a street value of £260 to £520 and £1,570 in cash.
Boateng said nothing at interview and later pleaded guilty to intent to supply cocaine and MDMA and possession of ketamine.
He was granted bail on the condition he abided by a curfew and reported regularly to a police station.
However, his story took a further turn after police raided the former football star's new address in Croydon - where he was living with his girlfriend and their two-month-old son - on Valentine's Day last year.
A Slazenger sports bag with 19.7kg of crystal meth was found in the hallway of the property.
CCTV footage also showed Boateng arriving seven days earlier, dumping the bag in the same position it was found in, after being handed the bag outside the home.
The court heard that while the crystal meth had a wholesale value of between £200,000 to £400,000, its street value could range from anywhere between £1,182,000 and £2,364,000.
Mr Carmichael said: "He is clearly trusted within an organisation, holding onto a significant amount of drugs."
While the defence did not dispute the weight of the drugs the former footballer possessed, they argued it could not be ruled out that Boateng was not a victim of "coercion or intimidation" from organised criminals when holding onto the drugs.
However, Judge Daniel Flahive told the court it was clear Boateng played a "significant role" within an organised crime group, saying this position was "not a matter of negotiation".
He added: "He had some awareness and understanding of the operation. This does put him squarely in the significant book.
"At the moment I can't see how this falls into a lesser role."
'YOU WERE PLAYING A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE DRUG DEALING ENTERPRISE'
In his closing statement, Judge Flahive said: "You were playing a significant role in the drug dealing enterprise. Your role was not minimal.
"The amount of drugs we are talking about, just shy of 20kg, the value at street level, we are talking potentially millions of pounds.
"The reason for the 14 years will be to reflect the sheer quantity of drugs you were looking after in the period of time and reminding myself this was an offence that was committed while on bail for the earlier case.
"When you are released you will be subject to licence, the licence will have conditions attached to it. You can go down now."
Right back Boateng was a youth player at Crystal Palace between 2005 and 2007 before he eventually made his senior debut for Tonbridge Angels while on loan from Bristol Rovers in 2011.
The star then had stints at Sutton United, Bromley, Newport County and Whitehawk before he was dismissed from the latter after being charged following a match-fixing probe in December 2013.
He was sentenced to 16 months in prison in June 2014 and the following January got a lifetime ban from football.
He was then jailed again in June 2015 for drug dealing.
Boateng had appeared as a co-host on the podcast series "Banged Up" which explored life inside Britain's prison system.
He had spoken candidly about his wish not to reoffend and stay out of trouble.
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