Ex-Arsenal player charged after £600,000 of cannabis seized at UK airport

Professional footballer Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has appeared in court after he was charged with orchestrating the attempted importation of drugs.

The 33-year-old striker, who currently plays for Greenock Morton, was arrested at his home in Gourock, near Glasgow, on Wednesday and taken to Carlisle for questioning.

The father-of-two did not enter a plea to the charge at Carlisle Magistrates court but his lawyer said he “strenuously” denied involvement in any plan to import drugs to the UK and he wanted to clear his name at trial.

It comes after officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) discovered 60kg of cannabis with an estimated value of £600,000 in suitcases arriving at Stansted Airport from Bangkok.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas is a former England under-17 and under-19 international who has previously played for clubs including Livingston, Aberdeen, Ipswich town, Bristol City, Queens Park Rangers, Arsenal, Cardiff City and Thai team PTT Rayong.

The striker signed a six-month contract with Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton in July.

Prosecutor Diane Jackson told the court that two women aged 28 and 32, had been arrested following the discovery of the drugs.

She said that they were travelling business class into the UK from Bangkok via Dubai.

The court heard that one of the women is the partner of Emmanuel-Thomas.

A total of four suitcases were said to have been seized. Some 29kg of cannabis were spread across two of these, with 31kg contained in the remaining two.

After being questioned by the NCA, both women were charged with drug importation offences.

They appeared before Chelmsford Magistrates Court and were bailed to appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on 1 October.

Emmanuel-Thomas was arrested shortly after 08:00 on Wednesday in Gourock in an operation which involved both NCA and Police Scotland officers.

He appeared in court at Carlisle as it was the closest geographically to Scotland, where he was arrested.

Phone evidence was said to have been collected by law enforcement officers, the court heard.

Ms Jackson said: “It shows that he carried out extensive research into flights and directions, which airports the females had been coming into. It is said this is not the first trip he has arranged.”

Nathaniel Gadsby, representing Emmanuel-Thomas, said: “He does strenuously deny any involvement in any plan to import drugs into the UK. He is eager to clear his name at trial.”

He added: “Mr Emmanuel-Thomas is a 33-year-old man, good character, no convictions.

“He has been a professional football player for all his adult life and played at a number of top teams across the UK.”

For the purposes of administration, the district judge said he was treating Emmanuel-Thomas’ no plea as a not guilty plea.

A legal adviser said the charge was such that it could be dealt with at a magistrates’ or crown court.

But deputy district judge Steven Jonas ruled the allegation was too serious to be dealt with in a magistrates’ court.

Emmanuel-Thomas was remanded in custody after an application for bail was rejected.

In August, the NCA issued a warning to travellers arriving into the UK from Thailand, Canada and the United States that they faced jail sentences if caught attempting to bring cannabis into the country after a surge in arrests.

The agency said the amount of cannabis seized so far in 2024 was already more than three times the figure for the whole of 2023.

The maximum sentence for cannabis importation in the UK is up to 14 years in prison.

NCA senior investigating officer David Phillips said: “The NCA continues to work with partners like Border Force to target those involved in drug smuggling – that includes both the couriers and the organisers.

“We would appeal to anyone who is approached to engage in any kind of smuggling to think very carefully about the likely consequences of their actions and the potentially life-changing risks they will be taking.”