Wrapped in a thick black down jacket, Andrew Chatters looks up. This time, the former professional footballer lost. This Tuesday, December 26, the 47-year-old Briton is going to prison for four years, after an immediate appearance at the Bayonne court. His reconversion into transport hid drug trafficking. He was arrested in the Basque Country, on the Spanish border, with 182 kilos of cannabis. His passenger, Mark Deduca, 60, received two years.
On December 19, late in the morning, a truck coming from Murcia [sud-est de l’Espagne, NDLR] catches the eye of customs officers stationed at the Biriatou toll booth, on the A63. In the middle of a jumble of sleeping bags and cans, a kitchen cabinet and two crates are overflowing with heat-sealed bags. 79.1 kg of cannabis herb and 103 of resin. 340,000 euros on the black market, which the two convicted will have to pay in the form of a fine. Andrew Chatters’ pockets exceed £3,195.
Pro feint
The ex-captain of Ely City, a modest Cambridge county club, is said to have been unaware of the nature of the load. “I met a guy, Dave the Scottish, in a truck parking lot. He needed to get some business back to San Sebastián. It was for the needy. » The forty-year-old lets his heart speak. “I left him the keys, he charged with his men. Once in northern Spain, his brother called me. We had to continue to Paris. » The passenger said no more. Established in Spain, Mark Deduca presents himself as a simple carpooler. He was taking advantage of the journey to return to London, to celebrate New Year’s Eve with his sons.
The investigation tells a different story. For the past month, both have appeared together or with others on ferry manifests between the British Isles and the continent. “Impossible,” says Andrew Chatters. I was in Abu Dhabi for the Formula 1 grand prix. » The dates don’t add up? Whatever. It serves another excuse. “I’m sorry, he doesn’t really answer the question. It’s going in all directions,” stammers his interpreter. In the former player’s phone, the police found three photos of drugs. One would correspond to the loading.
High roller
Since the mid-2000s and his retirement from the field, Andrew Chatters has been chasing a lavish life. His vacation in Turkey with a model friend was the delight of the tabloids in 2019. He pulls out nails for cash. The man has five years in prison across the Channel for tens of thousands of euros in tax fraud and bank card fraud. He had reinvested in six thoroughbreds built for racing.
“A profile of a sportsman, an event entrepreneur, owner of seven food trucks. And suddenly, he is invested with a transport mission,” says Jean-Claude Belot, the prosecutor, astonished. “Obviously he belongs to a network. » But “he is not a decision-maker, tempers Me Marguerite Lartéguy, his lawyer. He is fully exposed to the risk of being caught. Like a performer. » In short, a mule. “He found himself used. »
