Six semi-pro footballers jailed for over 100 years after selling cocaine worth up to £260m
Six semi-professional footballers who sold cocaine with an estimated street value of up to £260m have been jailed for a total of more than 103 years.
Police have said the "highly organised" gang, who sold the Class A drug on an "industrial scale", was brought down like a "house of cards" following the arrest of one its members.
Luke Skeete had been pulled over by police while driving a white panel van in October 2022 - and a search of the vehicle uncovered 8kg of cocaine in the back.
The 36-year-old was arrested and a further 123kg of cocaine and 224kg of ketamine was recovered from storage units in west London that he had control of.
Skeete's phone was also seized and sent for specialist interrogation - with officers discovering a secure messaging platform that was used by others.
The Metropolitan Police said the group chats "demonstrated and evidenced a sophisticated, professional business model" that the group had to supply cocaine throughout the UK.
The force added that each associate had used a different label on the messaging platform to conceal their identity and evade detectives.
"Painstaking work" meant the gang members were eventually identified by officers.
The other five members were:
• Former Enfield Town defender Adam Pepara, 35
• Former Chesham United forward Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick, 29
• Former Harrow Borough FC player Andrew Harewood, 34
• Former Margate FC striker Melchi Emanuel-Williamson, 29
• Former FK Senica player Jamarl Joseph, 28
Detectives examined CCTV footage that showed the gang members coming and going from one of the west London storage units with drugs concealed in holdalls and boxes.
Meanwhile, a video recovered from a car involved in a deal showed Skeete parking up in his white van and passing over a holdall of drugs.
Officers found the six men had conspired to supply in excess of 2.7 tonnes of "high-grade cocaine" with an estimated street value of between £208m and £260m between April and October 2022.
Specialist crime officers carried out arrest warrants at addresses linked to the group in London and Birmingham on 29 September 2023.
All of the men were arrested, charged and remanded in custody.
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The group were sentenced to a total of 103 years and five months in prison at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday 17 May.
They had all earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply controlled Class A drugs (cocaine) and conspiracy to supply controlled Class B drugs (ketamine).
Skeete had been jailed for 15 years at the same court in July 2023 after pleading guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs (cocaine), possession with intent to supply class B drugs (ketamine), supplying cocaine, and driving while disqualified.
PC Perry, from the Met Police's Specialist Crime North, said: "The operation we've dismantled here is not some minor undertaking, involving a group of chancers - this is a highly-organised criminal group who were supplying drugs on an industrial scale throughout the UK."
Detective Constable Janes, from Specialist Crime North, said: "With Skeete's arrest we brought this house of cards down.
"After he was detained we secured valuable evidence on his mobile phone, helping us launch another investigation that led to us identifying his conspirators."
