Footballer cleared of cocaine dealing

Footballer Leon Jeanne was cleared today of conspiring to supply cocaine.

The five-week trial at Cardiff Crown Court had heard how Jeanne, 22, “blew all his wages” on drink and drugs.

He started his career as a schoolboy at Arsenal and then moved on to a YTS scheme at QPR where he turned professional at 17.

Jeanne, a winger, later joined Cardiff City.

The footballer, of Browning Close, Cardiff, who did not give evidence during the trial, told detectives that he eventually signed a contract worth £1,000 (€1,442) a week before he was sacked.

He was arrested in September last year as part of Operation Arizona, an investigation into an alleged drugs ring based in Cardiff, the court was told.

A packed public gallery cheered as the verdict was read out.