Former Crystal Palace defender who hasn’t played in over a decade because of match fixing ban ‘admits to possessing crystal meth’ following previous drug conviction
A former Crystal Palace player has admitted possessing crystal meth, a report has revealed.
The former defender, who played for the Premier League club and went on to play for clubs including Bristol Rovers and Newport, was reportedly arrested at his apartment, where the drugs were found.
Michael Boateng, now 33, was arrested after police found 16.6kg of methamphetamine in his flat in Croydon, south London, according to The sun.
The raid is said to be one of the largest seizures ever made in the UK, with the Crown Court in Croydon hearing that the class A drugs were worth around £1.5 million.
Boateng, who played as a right-back and has already served a prison sentence, has not played professionally since his sacking by Whitehawk in 2013 amid a match-fixing investigation.
Former Crystal Palace defender Michael Boateng has admitted possession of Crystal Meth
Boateng has not played since being given a lifetime ban in 2015 for his involvement in a match-fixing investigation.
He played for clubs including Palace, Bristol Rovers and Whitehawk before being released by the latter
Born in Peckham, London, Boateng joined Crystal Palace as a teenager in 2005, spending two years in the club’s youth system before being released.
After leaving the Eagles, he joined the Woking youth system, where he regularly featured for the club’s reserves, before signing for Carshalton Athletic and finally playing regularly for the first team.
He then climbed the ladder again and in 2011, after a trial period at Bristol Rovers, he joined the club.
He played for Rovers for just one year, spending time on loan at Tonbridge Angels and Sutton United, playing regularly and being released at the end of the 2011–12 season.
He then moved to Bromley, where he had trials with Oxford United, Bradford City and Mansfield Town, but left after two months to return to Sutton, eventually playing for Newport and later Whitehawk.
On 5 December 2013, Boateng became the first player to be convicted of match-fixing in the United Kingdom since the 1960s. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery and sacked by Whitehawk.
Just over a year later, in January 2015, he was banned for life after admitting to conspiracy to commit bribery.
He was also reportedly sentenced to 16 months in prison for this offence and was jailed for drug trafficking in June 2015.
He became personal trainer to Premier League stars such as Reece James (pictured) after serving a prison sentence for a drugs offence
However, he has now been remanded in custody pending a hearing and will be sentenced in November
Boateng, who was a personal trainer to several top Premier League stars including Reece James, is said to have admitted possessing crystal meth, cocaine and MDMA with intent to supply.
He has reportedly been remanded in custody pending a hearing on October 18, at which a judge will hear evidence before making a ruling in November.