Footballer Jay Emmanuel-Thomas in court after £600,000 worth of cannabis seized at UK airport

Professional footballer Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has appeared in court after being charged with organising an attempted drug importation.

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 made no admission of guilt at Carlisle Magistrates Court, but his lawyer said he “vigorously” denied being involved in any plans to import drugs into the UK and wanted to clear his name in court.

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

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas is a former England U17 and U19 international who has previously played for clubs such as 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 team Greenock Morton in July.

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

She said they were flying business class from Bangkok to the UK via Dubai.

The court heard that one of the women was Emmanuel-Thomas's partner.

A total of four suitcases were confiscated. Two of them contained around 29 kilograms of cannabis, the other two suitcases contained 31 kilograms.

After being questioned by the NCA, both women were charged with offences under the Drug Importation Act.

They appeared before Chelmsford Magistrates' Court and were released on bail to appear before Chelmsford Crown Court on 1 October.

Emmanuel-Thomas was arrested in Gourock shortly after 8am on Wednesday in an operation involving both NCA and Police Scotland officers.

He appeared in court in Carlisle, as it was geographically closest to Scotland, and was arrested there.

The court heard that the phone evidence was allegedly collected by police officers.

Ms Jackson said: “It shows that he had done extensive research into flights and directions, which airports the women had come from. It is said that this is not the first trip he has organised.”

Nathaniel Gadsby, representing Emmanuel-Thomas, said: “He vigorously denies any involvement in any plans to import drugs into the UK. He is keen to clear his name in court.”

He added: “Mr Emmanuel-Thomas is a 33-year-old man of good character and with no previous convictions.

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

For administrative reasons, the district judge treated Emmanuel-Thomas’ non-admission as a plea of ​​not guilty.

Counsel suggested that the nature of the charges was such that they could be tried in a magistrates' court or a crown court.

But Deputy District Judge Steven Jonas ruled that the charge was too serious to be tried in district court.

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

In August, following a wave of arrests, the NCA warned travellers from Thailand, Canada and the US entering the UK that they face prison if caught attempting to bring cannabis into the country.

The authority announced that the amount of cannabis seized so far in 2024 is already more than three times higher than in the whole of 2023.

The maximum penalty for importing cannabis in the UK is up to 14 years in prison.

NCA Chief Investigator David Phillips said: “The NCA continues to work with partners such as Border Force to target those involved in drug smuggling – both couriers and organisers.”

“We urge anyone approached to engage in any form of smuggling to think very carefully about the likely consequences of their actions and the potentially life-changing risks they are taking.”