Female England footballer's partner is 'on the run in Spain'

Revealed: Partner of female England footballer who turned drug dealer is ‘on the run in Spain’ while she kicks her heels behind bars for laundering narcotics gang’s cash

• Stephen Canty was named in court as EncroChat user alongside Faye Dunn, 39
• Dunn was jailed for three years and nine months last year for her involvement
• She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and money laundering

The partner of female England footballer jailed over drugs is ‘on the run in Spain’ following his involvement in a money laundering operation for a narcotics gang. 

Messages between Stephen Canty and his partner Faye Dunn, 39, were revealed in a court case that saw her jailed for three years and nine months last year after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and money laundering. 

Dunn, who played for Leeds United and Tranmere, was involved in smuggling around 24kg of cannabis and laundered £654,800 of dirty money with Canty, The Sun has reported.

But her partner, who is from Liverpool, is reportedly now living in Marbella. 

Dunn and Canty reportedly both used the encrypted phone network Encrochat to discuss the drug laundering operation, with the former footballer adopting the name ‘StiffNinja’ and her partner going by ‘LedZeppelin’. 

Former England footballer Faye Dunn’s (left) partner Stephen Canty (right) is ‘on the run in Spain’ following his involvement in a money laundering operation for a narcotics gang

Court heard Canty played a role in the conspiracy that saw Dunn jailed for three years and nine months last year after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and money laundering

Dunn, who played for Leeds United and Tranmere, was involved in smuggling around 24kg of cannabis 

The messages, which were revealed during Dunn’s trial, found that she had been involved ‘in the supply and production of cannabis’ alongside her partner. 

Prosecutor Nicola Daley told the court on April 2, 2020 Dunn sent a tick list to Canty, showing an income of £1,155,548, and details of expenditure worth £431,700 and said the list included £100,000 spent on a house, £25,000 on cars and £21,500 on a watch. 

The court also heard that Dunn had benefited to the tune of £152,953.96 from her involvement in organised crime.

Dunn’s current available assets meanwhile stand at £69,747.70, the bulk of which comprises £64,000 of equity in a house on Birkdale Close in Huyton, alongside a Peugeot 1007 valued at £1,085 and nearly £2,000 of jewellery.

Dunn once boasted a portfolio of companies across a range of sectors and enjoyed an impressive sporting career. One highlight of her time in football came 20 years ago as a promising teenager playing for England at youth level.

Dunn, then 18, helped her team qualify for the semi-finals of the UEFA European Women’s U19 Championship.

She netted goals during two of the Lionesses’ group games during the tournament, against Denmark and Switzerland.

The box-to-box midfielder also turned out for Tranmere Rovers before joining Leeds United in 2003.

After hanging up her boots, Dunn – a well-known figure in the Huyton area – set up community interest company Onside Sports Academy, which aimed to support young footballers released from pro clubs back into employment. 

The messages, which were revealed during Dunn’s trial that, found that she had been involved ‘in the supply and production of cannabis’ alongside her partner

Prosecutor Nicola Daley told the court on April 2, 2020 Dunn sent a tick list to Canty, showing an income of £1,155,548, and details of expenditure worth £431,700

This was one of several directorships she would go on to hold, including interests in a legal firm and a recruitment company. Her empire also extended to a restaurant, a popular children’s play centre and an epoxy resin flooring business in Spain. 

But the mother-of-two’s fortunes turned in 2020 when Covid-19 saw her companies falter.

Becoming sucked into the criminal underworld, she operated under the handle ‘StiffNinja’ on the encrypted communications platform EncroChat before it was discovered by police.

Messages revealed that she had ‘involvement in the supply and production of cannabis’, being described as an ‘accountant for an organised criminal enterprise’.

Dunn also smuggled cash to Spain, boarding a Portsmouth to Santander ferry with money hidden in her trousers.

Ms Daley told the court during her sentencing in September 2022: ‘She played an operational role within the drugs supply chain but appeared to have significant influence upon others in the chain, facilitating meetings between criminal associates in relation to the supply of controlled drugs, and also instructed others to undertake tasks such as the collection and movement of packages of both drugs and cash.

‘Significantly, she appears to have acted as the accountant for the organised criminal enterprise and has concealed not only her EncroChat device but also cash when travelling abroad in order to evade detection by the authorities.’

Dunn, of Walpole Avenue in Whiston, was eventually arrested at Manchester Airport in June last year. She later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and money laundering.

The fallen entrepreneur – described as ‘intelligent, resourceful, kind, loving, generous and sadly flawed’ – tearfully wailed ‘I can’t believe it’ as she was led down to the cells, having been imprisoned for three years and nine months.

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