ALAN ‘Skill’ Cole, one of Jamaica’s best known footballers, was yesterday sentenced to 18 months behind bars and fined $1.015 million after being found guilty on several drug-related charges arising out of an incident in February 2002.

However, Cole, who appeared in the Half-Way-Tree Criminal Court, was released on bail in the sum of $2 million after his attorney gave a verbal notice of appeal.

According to Cole’s attorney Patrick Atkinson, the football icon was sentenced to pay $15,000 for possession of marijuana, $500,000, for dealing in marijuana and $500,000 for taking steps to export marijuana from Jamaica. Cole was also sentenced to 18 months in prison on the charge of using a premises to store marijuana.

If the former national football player and coach fails to pay the fines imposed by Resident Magistrate Desiree Alleyene, he will spend an additional eight months behind bars.

Allegations are that in February of 2002, members of a police team raided Cole’s Vineyard Town, Kingston home where they found 60 parcels of compressed ganja weighing approximately 148.45 kilograms (326.59 lbs).

During the raid, Cole and five other men were arrested, but the five men were subsequently released after the prosecution found that there was not enough evidence to link them to the drug find, leaving Cole alone to face the charges in the trial which began in February this year.

Cole came to prominence in the 1960s as a footballer at the schoolboy level, and subsequently at the national level in the 1970s.

He later went on to play professional football in Brazil after being signed to top flight Brazilian club Nautico in 1972.

Cole also managed international reggae superstar Bob Marley at one point, and penned one of Marley’s hit songs.