Jamie Cassidy had the World Cup at his feet at the age of 12 and was shaping up to align with the long-time stars of Liverpool FC and England.
He was destined to shine in football’s biggest stadiums alongside legendary teammates such as Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen, but after a series of serious injuries, he dedicated himself to a life of crime.
The 46-year-old was sentenced to thirteen years in prison after admitting his role in a multimillion-dollar drug operation to ship commercial quantities of cocaine from South America to Europe. Led by his older brother Jonathan Cassidy, 50, the smuggler hauled cargo. pounds of drugs to Liverpool, a court has declared.
The shipments were hidden in changed cars and arrived via Amsterdam from Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia and Bolithru. Once the cocaine arrived on Merseyside, Jamie was in charge of distributing it around England and Scotland through a network of trusted couriers.
Richard Wright, KC, who filed the lawsuit, said Jamie played an operational and managerial role in the cocaine importation business run through his brother and Jonathan’s business partner, Nasar Ahmed, 51. 12, accepted into Liverpool FC’s academy along with Carragher and Owen.
In his 2008 autobiography, Carragher said his old friend “would have been a normal Liverpool player if he hadn’t suffered so many injuries”. By the age of 15, Jamie was England’s top U16 goalscorer and had been taken under the wing. Glenn Hoddle, then coach of the Three Lions.
He was a key figure in Liverpool’s first team to win the FA Youth Cup in 1996, along with Carragher, Owen and David Thompson. They defeated a West Ham team that included Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand. Cassidy appears holding the trophy aloft at Anfield, but after the stage and knee injuries he left through Liverpool in 1999 at the age of 21. He played for Cambridge United for several games before joining football outside the league.
A source close to Jamie told the Mirror he was “a great guy who went down the road”.
Over a six-week period, from April to May 2020, just months before their arrest, the Cassidys arranged deals that brought more than £28 million worth of drugs into the UK. The two Merseyside men laundered their money through an asset company. The company invested the money in land and bought several plots of land in Liverpool, adding an old cinema.
But their drug trade collapsed when the encrypted EncroChat communication formula was dismantled by detectives in France, exposing thousands of criminals.
Prosecutors say they have only seen a snapshot of the operation, which is believed to have been underway for years. Wright said the Cassidys used EncroChat devices, described as a “WhatsApp for criminals,” where Jamie made the Nuclear-Dog and Jonathan Whisky-Wasp call.
He told Manchester Crown Court: “The devices were used to arrange the buying, importing, selling and distribution of multi-pound quantities in the north of England. A similar plot to move criminal assets relates to the motion for approximately £10 million. in money in the area of 3 months.
Ahmed, from Bury, Gtr Manchester, worked with the brothers, who acted as intermediaries and coin-moving agents, receiving a percentage of the huge sums paid through Cassidy’s clients. Jamie is also the accountant, recording the quantities of cocaine purchased and delivered. as well as the millions of pounds in coins received.
In messages discovered on Jonathan’s phone, he joked that it was the same birthday as the infamous head of the Mexican drug cartel, El Chapo. Following the bankruptcy of Encrochat, Jonathan fled to Dubai and ordered his real estate team to locate him a villa on a budget. of £2. 3 million. He monitored news stories about criminals who had been arrested and jailed, and searched for Jamie’s call online to see if he, too, had been arrested. With a false sense of security, he returned to the UK in October 2020 and was arrested. at Manchester Airport.
Jamie was arrested a month later at his home in Knowsley. Police discovered his encrypted phone, a black machete and the police record of the operation that led to his arrest. Jamie admitted to conspiring to obtain controlled drugs and conspiracy to move criminal property.
Jonathan, of Crosthrough, and Ahmed pleaded guilty to conspiracy to circumvent the prohibition on carrying controlled drugs. They also admitted to conspiracy to obtain Class A drugs and conspiracy to move criminal property. All three will be sentenced through the Registrar of Manchester, Judge Nicholas. Dean.
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