Frank Lampard was unwittingly caught up in a drugs bust after his photo was used as an identification ‘stamp’ on £28million-worth of crystal meth.
When Australian cops opened a duffel bag of seized ‘ice’ the last face they expected to see staring back at them was that of the England football legend. On each brick of the illicit stash was a ‘stamp’ – a picture used in the underworld to mark which drugs in an import belong to an individual crime clan or biker gang.
The snap used by one mob showed ex-Chelsea player and manager Lampard in a suit with one hand raised in the air. It was a famous photo taken the during the hero midfielder’s farewell lap in front of Chelsea fans in 2017.
Frank’s picture was plastered across dozens of confiscated blocks of the drug – a highly-addictive methamphetamine which can cause chronic physical and mental health problems.
(Image: Grab)
The innocent footballer had no involvement in the drug smuggling operation or knowledge his picture was being deployed as a mobsters’ identifying mark.
The bust resulted in the arrest of 37-year-old Richard Prothero at gunpoint in the car park of Maroubra Surf Club in Sydney.
He has been remanded in custody after appearing at Downing Centre Local Court charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs – which carried a maximum life prison sentence.
(Image: Getty Images)
Australian Federal Police Det Supt Kristie Cressy said the 60kg of methamphetamine could have been divided up into 600,000 street wraps. “Methamphetamine, like all illicit drugs, causes psychological, financial and social harm to users, their loved ones and the broader community,” she said.
“Criminals do not care about the harm they cause. They are motivated by the profits they can make. Across Australia there were 10,100 methamphetamine-related hospitalisations in 2021-2022 – which equates to more than 27 every day on average.
“This has an impact on the health system that can negatively affect the entire community. Investigations like this show the resolve and relentlessness of our investigators in making Australia a hostile environment for organised crime.”
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