Drugs gang take over footballer Jermaine Pennant's abandoned £3m home

2022-10-07

EXCLUSIVE: Drugs gang take over footballer Jermaine Pennant’s abandoned £3m home and turn it into cannabis factory

He bought five-bedroom luxury house in 2006 when he was at Liverpool FC
Rented the home for almost 10 years but it has stood empty since 2020
Local dealers are suspected of moving in and turning property to cannabis farm

Footballer Jermaine Pennant’s £3million abandoned home has been taken over by a drugs gang who turned into lucrative cannabis factory.

The five-bedroom luxury house was bought by Pennant in 2006 when he joined Liverpool and he lived there for three years before moving to Spanish side Real Zaragoza.

He rented the home for almost 10 years as his footballing career saw him move several times including stints in India and Singapore before he finally retired in 2017.

But it has stood empty since 2020 after Pennant, 39, split from his then partner Alice Goodwin, 32, and local dealers are suspected of moving in and turning the property into a money-making cannabis farm.

The five-bedroom luxury house was bought by Pennant in 2006 when he joined Liverpool and he lived there for three years before moving to Spanish side Real Zaragoza

He rented the home for almost 10 years as his footballing career saw him move several times including stints in India and Singapore before he finally retired in 2017

And it’s not the first time the footballer has abandoned an expensive purchase.

In 2011 he completely forgot he owned an expensive Porsche after he left it at Zaragoza train station in Spain for five months with the keys on the seat.

Video posted on social media shows dozens of black bin bags full of cannabis scattered throughout the sprawling property in Hale, just a stone’s throw from Liverpool’s Speke airport.

The gang installed dozens of electric sockets and extension cables to power powerful lamps to encourage the growth of the plants and scattered fans throughout the house to disperse the potent aroma.

Row upon row of plant pots are arranged in the lounge, kitchen and black and white marble lined bathroom of the property which is now completely overgrown with ivy and undergrowth.

Video posted on social media shows dozens of black bin bags full of cannabis scattered throughout the sprawling property in Hale, just a stone’s throw from Liverpool’s Speke airport

The gang installed dozens of electric sockets and extension cables to power powerful lamps to encourage the growth of the plants and scattered fans throughout the house to disperse the potent aroma

The footage – posted on YouTube by two urban explorers – lasts 35 minutes and the amazed pair can be heard discussing the huge extent of the cannabis farm and there is no suggestion the men broke into the property as the front door was open.

As the camera pans to the bin bags one of the men says: ‘Wow, this is former footballer Jermaine Pennant’s house and look at the mountains of weed everywhere. There is so much of the stuff it stinks.’

The film also pans across to the kitchen of the property where Jermaine had a fish tank enclosed in a wall and to the bathroom where there is a TV built into the brickwork.

A photograph of Pennant sipping from a McDonald’s cup is also seen on the floor before the camera focuses on two giant water butts that were used for irrigating the plants.

Row upon row of plant pots are arranged in the lounge, kitchen and black and white marble lined bathroom of the property which is now completely overgrown with ivy and undergrowth

MailOnline has checked with the Land Registry and documents lodged there confirm Pennant bought the property in March 2007 with a mortgage from Lloyds Bank.

A source said: ‘Jermaine bought the house back years ago when he played for Liverpool and he lived there for about three years before he moved onto Spain where he spent a bit of time before moving back to Britain.

‘Towards the end of his career he played all over England and then ended up in India and Singapore before retiring about five years ago but in all that time he never went back to the house.

‘It was rented out for years and then around 2020 the tenants moved out and it’s been empty ever since – some dealers moved in about a year ago and it was common knowledge it was used as a cannabis farm.’

Police raided the house earlier this year and a 35-year-old man was arrested as part of a drugs investigation but there is no suggestion Jermaine had any idea his house was being used for criminal activity.

A letter on the floor in the hallway which is seen in the video details how Cheshire Police raided the house in the last month but no drugs were found and no items seized – despite bags of cannabis still being clearly visible in the footage.

Pennant made over 350 appearances during his career for 15 clubs and scored 25 goals but he also hit the headlines for his off the field activities.

In 2004 he was given a 16-month driving ban after being caught over the limit and a year later he was arrested again after crashing while serving his ban and he told police he was fellow footballer Ashley Cole before identifying himself correctly.

He was later given three months jail but released after 30 days and returned to playing for then club Birmingham City.

His house in Hale hit the headlines in 2008 after thieves drove a car through the gates in a ram raid in the early hours and police suspected it was a gang who had targeted other Liverpool players living locally.

In a statement to MailOnline Cheshire police said:’ On 5 January 2022 police executed a warrant at a property on Hale Road in Widnes. A cannabis farm was found inside and a quantity of plants were seized’

The same year his father Gary was jailed for four years after being convicted of drug dealing.

Pennant and glamour model Alice – a Keele University graduate – split up earlier this year after nine years together and she has an Only Fans account.

‘At the time a 35-year-old man was arrested and has been released under investigation. In September officers received further information of a cannabis farm at the same property on Hale Road. Officers executed the warrant on 2 September and following a search no cannabis plants were located.’

Pennant – who also played for Arsenal, and England Under 21s in his 18-year career and who signed for Liverpool om a £6.7 million deal – was unavailable for comment despite several attempts to reach him.

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