Overview

• The network smuggled 356kg of cocaine from the Netherlands, valued at about £26 million, supplying users across north-west England, Birmingham and Leeds.
• Cassidy pleaded guilty in February 2024 at Manchester Crown Court to importing cocaine, conspiring to supply it and laundering criminal proceeds.
• On June 9, a Court of Appeal bench led by Lord Justice Fraser rejected Cassidy’s claim of excessive sentencing and upheld his 21-year, nine-month term.
• Nasar Ahmed, who handled cash transfers for the operation, received an identical sentence and saw his appeal dismissed alongside Cassidy’s.
• Jamie Cassidy, a former Liverpool FC academy prodigy, was sentenced to 13 years and three months for conspiring to supply cocaine and transfer criminal property.