An ex-Crystal Palace defender who performed a ‘vital position’ in an organised crime group has been jailed for 14 years after being caught with £2.36million price of crystal meth.
Michael Boateng was arrested on Valentine’s Day final 12 months after police discovered 19.7kg of the Class A drug in a Slazenger sports activities bag on the Croydon flat he shared together with his girlfriend after which two-month-old son.
The invention is regarded as one of many largest ever crystal meth busts on UK soil.
The 34-year-old, who the court docket heard had been a profitable private coach with purchasers together with England soccer star Jadon Sancho, had admitted intent to provide crystal meth, cocaine and MDMA at Croydon Crown Court docket in September.
Boateng, sporting a blue jail ‘Psychological Well being Ambassador’ t-shirt and gray tracksuit bottoms, sat immobile because the decide learn out his sentence.
His girlfriend and the mom to his now 18-month-old son, shook her head in disbelief because the sentence was learn out.
Croydon Crown Court docket heard on June 20 how Peckham-born Boateng had been ‘doing properly’ whereas working as a private coach and in shut safety between 2018 and 2023.
However in 2022, the Metropolitan Police made Boateng conscious of a right away menace to his life, referred to as an Osman Warning.
Michael Boateng was arrested on Valentine’s Day final 12 months after police discovered 19.7kg of the crystal meth in a Slazenger sports activities bag at his flat
Boateng (pictured enjoying soccer) was banned in 2015 for involvement in a match fixing probe
Boateng (proper) is seen leaving Birmingham Magistrates Court docket in 2013
Paul Crampin, for the defence, advised the court docket: ‘He was advised there was a reputable menace in opposition to his life.
‘On account of that, his associate on the time primarily refused him entry to their household.
‘They minimize him off utterly from his son. It induced Mr Boateng to expertise a interval of stress and melancholy.
‘One of many penalties of that was that he grew to become concerned in drug use.
‘He began utilizing Class A medication… he was then concerned within the small scale provide of medicine to primarily individuals he knew… at that stage it was to fund his personal Class A drug behavior.’
In September 2023, Boateng was stopped by cops within the Bromley space of South London after appearing suspiciously.
He ran from officers into Cromford Shut earlier than a canine unit discovered a snap bag with 19 wraps of cocaine which had been discarded over a backyard wall.
When he was arrested he had two iPhones on him and £102 in money.
John Carmichael, prosecuting, advised the court docket how a search of Boateng’s flat in Croydon discovered 14 extra wraps of cocaine, 32 tablets of MDMA and one block of twenty-two grams of MDMA.
Boateng (pictured in 2020) sat immobile because the decide learn out his 14-year sentence in court docket
Croydon Crown Court docket (pictured) heard on June 20 how Peckham-born Boateng had been ‘doing properly’ whereas working as a private coach and in shut safety between 2018 and 2023
The general avenue worth of the cocaine and MDMA stood at between £3,000 and £4,180, the court docket heard.
Cops additionally discovered 26 baggage of Ketamine, with a avenue worth of £260 to £520 and £1,570 in money.
Boateng mentioned nothing at interview and later pleaded responsible to intent to provide cocaine and MDMA and possession of ketamine.
He was granted bail on the situation he abided by a curfew and reported usually to a police station.
However on February 14, 2024, police raided Boateng’s new deal with, additionally in Croydon, the place he lived together with his new girlfriend and the couple’s then two-month-old son, who had been born on Christmas Day 2023.
A Slazenger sports activities bag with 19.7kg of crystal meth was discovered within the hallway of the property.
CCTV confirmed Boateng arriving seven days earlier and dumping the bag down in the identical place after being handed it exterior the property.
The court docket heard the crystal meth had a wholesale worth of £200,000 to £400,000 however a avenue worth of between £1,182,000 and £2,364,000.
‘He’s clearly trusted inside an organisation, holding onto a major quantity of medicine’, Mr Carmichael mentioned.
Boateng was sentenced to 16 months in jail in June 2014 and the next January received a lifetime ban from soccer
However Mr Crampin mentioned that whereas there was no dispute over the burden of the medication Boateng possessed, it couldn’t be dominated out that Boateng was not a sufferer of ‘coercion or intimidation’ from organised criminals when holding onto the medication.
Decide Daniel Flahive advised the court docket it was clear Boateng performed a ‘vital position’ inside an organised crime group and his standing within the drug trafficking community was ‘not a matter of negotiation’.
He added: ‘He had some consciousness and understanding of the operation. This does put him squarely within the vital ebook.
‘In the intervening time I am unable to see how this falls right into a lesser position.’
In his closing assertion, Decide Flahive mentioned: ‘You had been enjoying a major position within the drug dealing enterprise. Your position was not minimal.
‘The quantity of medicine we’re speaking about, simply shy of 20kg, the worth at avenue stage, we’re speaking probably thousands and thousands of kilos.
‘The rationale for the 14 years shall be to mirror the sheer amount of medicine you had been taking care of within the time period and reminding myself this was an offence that was dedicated whereas on bail for the sooner case.
‘If you find yourself launched you can be topic to licence, the licence could have circumstances connected to it. You possibly can go down now.’
Proper again Boateng was on the books at Crystal Palace as a teen between 2005 and 2007 once they had been competing within the Championship.
The defender went on to play for Bristol Rovers earlier than having spells at Bromley, Sutton United, Newport County and non-league Whitehawk.
In December 2013, he was sacked by Whitehawk after being charged following a match-fixing probe.
He was sentenced to 16 months in jail in June 2014 and the next January received a lifetime ban from soccer. He was jailed once more in June 2015 for drug dealing.
Boateng had appeared as a co-host on the podcast collection ‘Banged Up’ which explored life inside Britain’s jail system.
He had spoken candidly about his want to not reoffend and keep out of bother.
