Ex-Arsenal star jailed after 100mph car chase and cocaine seizure

The former Arsenal striker Anthony Stokes has received a 15-month prison sentence after being caught with nearly £3,300 worth of cocaine following a high-speed car chase.

Stokes was stopped by police in his native Dublin just after midnight on January 6, 2023, after reaching 100mph during a chase. After driving through red lights, he almost hit another driver and was found to be over the drink-drive limit while also being uninsured.

The 36-year-old also pleaded guilty to possessing 86 illegal street tablets in a separate incident. Judge Grainne Malone sentenced Stokes at Dublin District Court on Tuesday to one year and three months in prison alongside a five-year driving ban.

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Defending Stokes, solicitor Lorraine Stephens said he "is trying to battle his demons", having previously been in denial about his addiction to cocaine and alcohol since retiring from football in 2020. Sentencing had been adjourned last month with Judge Malone waiting to see proof that Stokes was drug-free, but traces of cocaine were still in his system.

The father of three was joined in court by his girlfriend and mother. He showed no emotion after the sentencing.

Stokes confessed to driving while over the alcohol limit, four counts of dangerous driving, unlawful possession of cocaine and having the drug for sale or supply. He also admitted to not producing a driving licence and driving without insurance.

Police apprehended the former footballer after a 10-minute car chase, which abruptly ended when he found the gates of Phoenix Park shut. Stokes attempted to leave the scene on foot, but police prevented that.

Cocaine valued at €3,700 (£3,300) was in wraps inside a sock in the air vents of the vehicle he was driving. Stokes had one previous conviction for assault causing harm back in 2013, which led to a suspended sentence and a £25,000 compensation order.

His professional football career began at in 2005 after relocating from Dublin as a teenager, where he played for Shelbourne. After a loan at Falkirk, the striker joined before further temporary spells at and .

Stokes then joined Hibernian before moving to , where he spent six years, winning the Scottish Premiership four times. He then re-joined Hibs on loan before returning to England with Blackburn Rovers, with a third spell in Edinburgh following that short stint.

After leaving Scotland, he played in Greece, Iran, and Turkey before briefly joining Livingston in the summer of 2020. He ultimately left after a month and retired later that year, and, according to his defence, it was then that he developed issues with alcohol and drugs.