Full Explanation Revealed: Why Former Norwich City Player Was Sentenced to 28 Months in Prison

Former Premier League footballer Jamar Loza has been sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence after being found guilty of running a business selling laughing gas ‘on a commercial scale’ – and his employers, Kettering Town, have now issued a statement indicating that the striker’s contract will be terminated immediately.

Loza, a Jamaican international with four caps, was sentenced to 28 months in prison at Norwich Crown Court earlier this week after pleading guilty to two crimes dating back to 2022. The court heard how he supplied the hallucinogenic substance, Nitrous Oxide, by the pallet.

Many people are unfamiliar with the centre-forward’s identity. He began his career at Norwich City, advancing through the academy ranks between 2012 and 2014 before being promoted to the first team under Neil Adams. Throughout his playing career, he has represented Woking, Maidstone United, and Billericay Town.

Jamar Loza is sentenced to 28 months behind bars.

Back in 2022, the Kingston-born centre-forward, whose only appearance in the English top flight came in a 2-0 loss to Arsenal in May 2014, was detained twice in the same week. On August 17, that year, police discovered a number of nitrous oxide canisters in his Mercedes during the initial stop.

Loza, 31, of Lapwing Drive in Cotessey, was arrested, interrogated, and released on that occasion, but it only took the police eight days to penalise him again after he was stopped at the Longwater retail park. He guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply and providing a psychoactive substance when he was sentenced at Norwich Crown Court on Wednesday.

According to Recorder Ruth Brander, he had been “sourcing and supplying” nitrous oxide by the pallet, which cost roughly £10,000. “It’s clear you were directing, buying and selling on a commercial scale,” she told me.

He had been transporting the drug between London and Norfolk (a 260-mile round trip), so he had employed two delivery drivers to assist his business run more smoothly. Loza allegedly boasted to fellow vendors that he was “making so much money [he] didn’t know what to do with it.”

Lydia Punchard, a co-defendant who arrived in court significantly pregnant, received a six-month sentence for one count of furnishing nitrous oxide. She was also ordered to complete 10 days of Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) before giving birth next month.

When asked for a character reference, Loza’s former Norwich colleague Darren Eadie described him as a’really wonderful role model’. After sliding down the pecking order at previous teams, the journeyman striker joined Southern League Premier Central side Kettering Town in March of this year. In a statement, they wrote:

“With the news this week that Jamar Loza has been sentenced for an incident which took place prior to his association with Kettering Town, we can confirm that the Club has taken steps to terminate his playing contract with the Poppies.”

“During his time with us, Jamar made a positive contribution on the pitch, and we are grateful for his performance in the club’s colours,” the announcement went on to say. “While we take no pleasure in this conclusion from a sporting standpoint, as a club, we are committed to maintaining the greatest standards of behaviour and ethics. We wish Jamal and his family the best of luck in dealing with the issues ahead, and we appreciate our fans’ continuing understanding and professionalism during this time.”

Loza made his final game for the club, coming on as a substitute, in a 2-0 defeat at Alvechurch on Saturday, with the hosts scoring twice in stoppage time, but he had scored two league goals for The Poppies since the beginning of the season. His departure came just days after Newcastle United chose to release Nile Ranger, a superb striker on the club’s roster.