The man who squandered a promising career after being sucked sucked into the murky world of drug trafficking

This is the mugshot of a man who squandered a promising career as a boxer representing his country after being locked up and sucked into the murky world of drug trafficking.

Craig O'Brien, 33, went to prison in 2010 for five years following a 'neighbour dispute'.

There, he was 'taken under the wing' of a 'more sophisticated' criminal.

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Fast forward 12 years and he's behind bars again - this time for trafficking five kilos of cocaine.

O'Brien, from Rochdale, was arrested on suspicion of drugs offences last summer.

Enquiries revealed more than detectives were expecting.

Detectives found incriminating messages on the encrypted messaging service, Wickr, on two of his phones, in June.

O'Brien spoke with contacts about how much cocaine they wanted wishing to buy; the quality of the drug; and prices, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

In other messages, he said he could get new devices for his associates to use following the Europe-wide hack into the Encrochat network in June 2020.

Tom Challinor, prosecuting, said messages were recovered on the Wickr app.

"Included in these messages were images of kilos of cocaine, compressed into blocks, some which were embossed with logos which signified their origin," he said.

"One account asks the defendant for a 'job' for a friend of his who is going to buy from him if he 'liked it' and there was a possibility to 'get 25 for a kilo'.

"It was suggested by the user that he could sell the drugs on for Mr O'Brien if his customer liked them and could make Mr O'Brien some money.”

In other messages, the account requested cutting agents to break down the drug.

The court