Jed Neill
AN ex-con has released a new book detailing his life as a drug dealer in Spain.
Titled Just An Ordinary Decent Criminal, the book is awash with anecdotes of the criminal underworld on the Costa del Sol during the 1990s.
In one scene the 48-year-old reveals a nerve-racking confrontation he had with Spanish police on the border while his car was loaded with cocaine.
The Liverpudlian also sheds light on the camaraderie amongst Liverpool’s criminal fraternity in Marbella and how he used booze and cannabis to cope with the stress of being on the run.
“You know that you could be kidnapped, tortured or killed. I used cannabis and booze to try and relax. I was in and out of hospital with all kinds of health problems,” he said.
Once dubbed one of Britain’s most wanted criminals, Paul Walmsley spent five years ‘on his toes’ in Europe and was a notorious ‘Costa crook’.
He added: “I know I have a lot fewer things now, but my life has qualities that money can’t buy.”
His life as a drug dealer took a turn in 2011 after Spanish police squashed an attempt to smuggle £3.5 million of Class A drugs into Britain and Walmsley handed himself in to serve a 10-year jail sentence.
After serving five years the parole board deemed Walmsley a ‘reformed character’ and upon being released from prison, he bagged himself a job at the Jamie Carragher Sports and Learning Academy.
He says his time in prison was a chance to turn his life around and now speaks at universities across the UK.
“I tell young people that the crime and drugs game will bite you back later on in life.
“There are very, very few people who managed to make a successful, long term living from crime. It will come back at you.”
The book is available in paperback from Amazon for £20.
