Former Arsenal striker Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has been charged in connection with an alleged attempt to smuggle £600,000 worth of cannabis through Stansted Airport, according to the Telegraph.
The 33-year-old, who plays for Scottish Championship club Greenock Morton, was arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) shortly after 8am on Wednesday (18 September) in Gourock, Inverclyde.
Thomas, who also played for Ipswich Town, Queens Park Rangers and Bristol City before moving to Scotland, was questioned and remanded in custody ahead of his court appearance on Thursday (September 19).
Emmanuel-Thomas played for Arsenal and England's Under-17 and Under-19 teams but made just one appearance for the London club before leaving in 2011.
The NCA arrested Emmanuel-Thomas with an estimated £600,000 worth of cannabis allegedly being transported through Stansted Airport on 2 September.
Border Force officers are said to have discovered about 60kg of class B drugs in two suitcases, which arrived by flight from Bangkok, Thailand.
Emmanuel-Thomas, who also played in Thailand in 2019 before returning to the UK to play for Livingston and then Aberdeen, is expected to appear at Carlisle Magistrates' Court.
NCA senior investigating officer David Phillips said: “The NCA continues to work with partners such as Border Force to target those involved in drug trafficking – including couriers and organisers.
“We urge anyone who is approached to engage in any form of smuggling to think very carefully about the possible consequences of their actions and the potentially life-changing risks they will face.”
The charges against Emmanuel-Thomas come after the NCA issued a warning to travellers arriving in the UK from Thailand, Canada and the US that they face jail if caught trying to bring cannabis into the country.
So far in 2024, the agency said, the amount of drugs seized is three times higher than in 2023.
The NCA also said drug couriers often said their bosses told them they would only risk fines if caught, despite the maximum sentence for smuggling cannabis into the UK being 14 years in prison.
