Chris Lewis Presents Britain’s Jailed Sportsmen
Mark Ward
He was living with a girlfriend, and then friends and family. Christmas was approaching and he was broke, again. An acquaintance, someone he knew casually and who knew Ward as a former Everton player on his uppers, lent him £500. The man approached him late last year and said he had a proposition that would sort out the debt. He wanted Ward to rent a semi-detached house in Prescot, on behalf of someone else. “I declined. But then in early January my financial situation had become so dire that I agreed. I knew the house was going to be used for a ‘stash’. It could’ve been anything: drugs, cigarettes, money, and to be honest, I didn’t care. All I had to do was rent it and provide access. I never even lived there.”
Ward assumed the role of caretaker. He kept the place tidy, and kept a few belongings there to make it seem lived in. “I went round one day to check on the place and couldn’t believe the mess it was in. There was powder, bowls, plastic bags, all kinds of drugs paraphernalia. I just thought, ‘What the hell have I got involved in?’
“I spoke to the guy and said ‘That’s it, I want out’. I knew I
was in big trouble if it all came out. I tried in vain to escape from the situation but was told to shut up and let the tenancy agreement run its course until July. I knew I’d just have to sit tight. I was paid between £400 and £500 a week to rent the property. I was still hoping to return to Australia. I was at the lowest I’ve ever been in my life. I got into something that I should never have gone near. I made a terrible, terrible mistake. And there just wasn’t any way to get out of it.”
In May police raided the house. They found the equivalent of 3kg of pure cocaine, with an estimated street value of £645,000, along with paraphernalia including bowls, mixing agents, a vacuum seal and a hydraulic press. “A drugs factory,” says Detective Inspector Chris Green of the Merseyside force. Green says that the police had no prior knowledge of Ward’s involvement, but they found paperwork naming Ward as the sole tenant.
Initially Ward faced three charges, including possession of crack cocaine, and intent to supply it. Those two were dropped because the forensic evidence did not stack up. But at a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court last month, he was sentenced to eight years for possession of cocaine with intent to supply – Indy
Posted: 20th, May 2009 | In: Key Posts, Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
