A footballer has been jailed after “flooding south London with drugs” such as cocaine, ketamine and cannabis.

Jason Pusey, a Gibraltarian footballer who was part of the Atletico Madrid youth academy, was discovered to have been running an operation using south London gangs to supply cocaine and cannabis.

The drugs have an estimated street value of £3 million.

Police found that he was using EncroChat as part of the operation – an encrypted communication network.

Detectives closed in on Pusey as they started investigating the Encrochat handle “IrregularFog” in June 2020.

Evidence showed that between March 2020 and June 2020, the 34-year-old was the sole user of the encrypted EncroChat mobile phone and was involved in the whole sale distribution of class A and class B drugs.

Passwords were found to match the names and dates of both of Pusey’s family members; the locations of the EncroChat phone matched those of his own mobile phone; and messages on the device matched Pusey’s “extremely specific details of travel”.

 Within the EncroChat, there was evidence that showed Pusey had been running what police describe as “a very successful drug operation”.

The device also showed lots of messages about the importation of the class A drugs into the UK and the very detailed routes being used by various importers and couriers.

The former footballer, of Coperland Crescent, Market Weighton, York, was arrested at his home address on Tuesday, June 20 2023, and charged on Wednesday, June 21.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drug (cocaine), conspiracy to supply Class A (Ketamine), and conspiracy to supply Class B (Cannabis) at Kingston-Upon-Hull Crown Court on Wednesday, July 26 2023.

He was jailed for three years and 11 months.

Detective Constable Duncan Askew, responsible for the investigation from the Met’s Specialist Crime team, said: “Pusey arranged large-scale drug deals while also maintaining a well-respected football career.

“On the surface he appeared as a doting family man – but he was making millions sending commercial scale amounts of controlled drugs to south London gangs.

“He did this all with no thought of the misery and devastation caused in London communities by drug supply, and the violence it leads to.

“Operation Eternal investigations over the last three years have resulted in the Met identifying and jailing major players in the criminal fraternity, and stemming the flow of drugs and guns onto the streets.

“The drugs trade relies upon exploitation and violence to operate and we will continue to relentlessly pursue those involved, and put them before the courts.”