NAMED: Ex-Premier League footballer, 47, arrested in dramatic undercover drugs bust on the Costa del Sol
THE identity of a former Premier League footballer arrested in a daring drugs raid on the Costa del Sol has been revealed.
Neil Clement, 47, was handcuffed by undercover police officers earlier this month on suspicion of committing an offence against public health after cops detected suspicious movements in and out of his shop in Mijas.
The British national was taken into custody at Doobiez, a self-styled ‘marijuana dispensary’ in a Riviera del Sol shopping center, after officers apprehended a customer who said he had just bought a bag of cannabis from the shop.
That prompted officers to raid the outlet, where they identified the person in charge and uncovered an alleged drug distribution operation.
Officers seized two bags of cannabis weighing 489 and 681 grams each, 865 grams of hashish resin and 164 pre-rolled cannabis cigarettes ready for sale.
The estimated street value of the drugs is around €19,000.
Police also confiscated 79 glass jars, 23 plastic containers, heat-sealed packaging, two precision digital scales and more than €3,000 in cash.
“Mijas Policia Local have arrested a man on suspicion of committing an offence against public health following an operation at an establishment in the Las Terrazas shopping center in Riviera del Sol,” a statement from police said.
“Officers detected suspicious movements of people entering and leaving the premises whilst carrying out surveillance in the area on the afternoon of March 10.
“They eventually intercepted one of the customers and found that he was carrying a heat-sealed bag containing cannabis which he said he had just acquired inside the premises.
“They then proceeded to search the premises, and after identifying the person in charge, they found a large quantity of narcotic substances and cash.
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“They also found materials required for the preparation and distribution of these substances, all of which were seized.
“In light of these events, the person in charge of the premises was arrested on suspicion of committing an offence against public health and was handed over to the Guardia Civil.”
Police initially only revealed the age and nationality of the suspect and said he spent the majority of his football career with West Bromwich Albion – but his identity has now been confirmed.
Hard-hitting defender Clement started his career with Chelsea before scoring 24 goals across 295 appearances during a ten-year spell with the Baggies.
He is the son of former England legend Dave Clement and brother to current Brazil assistant coach Paul Clement.
The Reading-born star relocated to Spain with his family after being forced to retire from football in January 2010 due to a knee injury.
Clement became a horse racing owner after retirement but was banned from the sport for 15 years in 2013 over his involvement in a corruption scandal.
He was found guilty of conspiring to commit a corrupt or fraudulent practice, placing a lay bet on a horse which he then owned and failure to provide phone records to an inquiry.
Grade One-winning jockey Eddie Ahern was also banned for 10 years after passing on insider information to Clement.
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