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A former Premier League footballer has been identified as the man arrested in an daring drugs raid at Costa del Sol.
Neil Clement, 47 was handcuffed in Mijas by police undercover earlier this week on suspicion of an offense against public safety after they detected suspicious movement in and out his shop.
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.
The officers raided this outlet and found the person responsible for the operation.
Officers seized 2 bags of cannabis, each weighing 681 and 489 grams. They also seized 865 grams of resin hashish and 164 cannabis cigarettes that were ready to sell.
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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.
A police statement said that “Mijas Policia Local has arrested a male on suspicion of an offense against public health after an operation in an establishment at the Las Terrazas Shopping Center in Riviera del sol.”
“Officers detected suspicious people entering or leaving the premises as they carried out surveillance in the vicinity on the afternoon March 10.
They finally intercepted one customer and found he was carrying an air-sealed plastic bag that contained cannabis, which he claimed he just bought inside the store.
They then searched the premises and, after identifying the person responsible, found a large amount of narcotics and cash.
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The materials necessary for the production and distribution of these substances were also seized.
“In light these events, the person responsible for the premises was arrested and handed over to Guardia Civil on suspicion of an offense against public health.”
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.
Clement began his career as a Chelsea defender before moving to the Baggies for ten years. He scored 24 goals over 295 matches.
He is the brother of current Brazil assistant Paul Clement, and son of former England legend Dave Clement.
After being forced to retire in January 2010 from football due to a serious knee injury, the Reading-born star moved to Spain with family.
Clement, who retired in 2013, became an owner of horse races after his retirement. However, he was banned for 15 years from the sport due to his involvement in a scandal involving corruption.
He was found guilty for conspiring to commit corrupt or fraudulent practices, placing a bet on the horse he owned at the time and failing to provide phone records.
Eddie Ahern, the Grade One-winning jockey, was also suspended for 10 years because he passed inside information to Clement.
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