Former Arsenal striker thought he was ‘importing gold not cannabis' in smuggling plot
A former Arsenal striker believed he was 'importing gold not cannabis ' after being caught in a plot to smuggle drugs through Stansted Airport from Thailand, a court has heard.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas pleaded guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court to fraudulent evasion of the prohibition on the importation of cannabis between July 1 2024 and September 2 2024.
The former Livingston, Aberdeen and Arsenal academy product changed his plea to guilty at a hearing on May 7 and this can now be reported after reporting restrictions were lifted on Wednesday.
The 34-year-old had previously denied the charges when asked to enter a plea in October last year.
The footballer, who has also played for Ipswich Town, Bristol City, Queens Park Rangers and Thai side PTT Rayong, was remanded in custody ahead of his sentencing on a date to be fixed.
Emmanuel-Thomas, of Cardwell Road in Gourock, Inverclyde, Scotland, was arrested in the town by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers in September 2024.
His arrest came after the NCA seized an estimated £600,000 of the class B drug as it was being smuggled through Stansted on September 2.
Border Force officers detected roughly 60kg (132lb) of the drug in two suitcases, which had arrived via a flight from Bangkok, Thailand. Emmanuel-Thomas was sacked by Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton following his arrest
Co-defendants Rosie Rowland and Yasmin Piotrowska, who both denied the charge, face no further action after prosecutors offered no evidence in their case.
Prosecutor David Josse KC said that 'at all material times they maintained both before the events that led to the importation and after the events, they said they thought they were importing gold not cannabis'.
Judge Christopher Morgan directed that not guilty verdicts be recorded in the case of Rowland and Piotrowska and they walked free from the dock.
Rowland, 29, of Southend Road, Chelmsford, Essex, and 33-year-old Piotrowska, of Purves Road, Kensal Rise, north-west London, wept after leaving the dock.
Emmanuel-Thomas appeared at Wednesday's hearing by video-link from Chelmsford Prison.
He was asked if he would like to appear at his sentencing in person or by video-link and he asked that it be in person, with the date for this hearing to be set administratively.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
British couple are charged with 'smuggling £1million of cannabis from Thailand' after being stopped at Heathrow
A British couple have been charged with smuggling £1million of cannabis into the UK from Thailand. Sian Warren, 34, and Daniel McDonald, 36, were arrested by National Crime Agency officers at Heathrow last month after allegedly being found with more than 51kg of the Class B drug in their suitcases. The pair were charged with importing class B drugs and appeared at Uxbridge magistrates' court on May 29. They have since been bailed and are due to attend a plea hearing at Isleworth crown court on June 26. Sian reportedly works as an administrator for a house building business where Daniel's father also works. The couple, who are both from Salford, Manchester, had flown out for a dream holiday to Bangkok last month, according to the Sun. Sian's father Tony has claimed she would not have knowingly smuggled drugs into the country. He told the Sun: 'Sian's not brought anything back, definitely not. She had her own suitcase with clothes in it.' The couple are the latest Brits to be caught allegedly trying to smuggle drugs into another country. Last month a British former flight attendant was accused of smuggling £1.2 million of super-strength cannabis into Sri Lanka. Charlotte May Lee, 21, from Coulsdon, south London, was arrested in Colombo after police discovered 46 kg of 'Kush' - a synthetic strain of cannabis - in her suitcase. She had just arrived in the Sri Lankan capital on a flight from Bangkok in Thailand. She was arrested at Bandaranaike Airport and taken into custody on Monday, May 11. She is facing up to 25 years locked in a hellhole Sri Lankan jail - but she has insisted she has been set up MailOnline spoke to her from her cell where she admitted that she had not been eating because the food was too spicy. Elsewhere, Bella May Culley, 18, is now facing life in prison in the former Soviet country after being accused of illegally buying, possessing and importing large quantities of narcotics. The youngster from Billingham, Country Durham, was believed to have gone missing in Thailand before she was detained 3,700 miles away at Tbilisi International Airport. Concerns had been raised that the two cases were related as both young women left Bangkok airport on the same day and were arrested in Sri Lanka and Georgia respectively within hours of each other.
BBC News
35 minutes ago
- BBC News
Bradford man in court on rape and sexual assault charges
A man has appeared in court charged with rape and sexual assault following an incident in Mico, 34, was charged after police were called to reports of a serious assault in Ashgrove, in the Great Horton area of the city, at about 07:18 BST on offences are alleged to have been committed against two women aged 32 and Mico, of Ashgrove, Bradford, was remanded in custody to appear at the city's crown court on 9 July. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
'Outstanding Carver has left big shoes to fill'
Departing Scotland assistant John Carver "has left big shoes to fill" says Steve Clarke as his right-hand man focuses solely on his role as Lechia Gdansk 60-year-old took over the Polish top-flight team in November and will focus on his club job after being handed an extended has been with Scotland since August 2020 when he replaced Alex Dyer as head coach Clarke's assistantSpeaking after the 4-0 friendly win over Liechtenstein in Vaduz, Clarke said: "John's leaving. He's got a full-time contract, three years in Gdansk. So he's going to move on. The only surprise for me is that it's taken five years for somebody to take John off me."We came across each other way back in 1998 at Newcastle when I was a young coach and John was an even younger coach. He was looking after the younger players at Newcastle."We always said that we'd try and work together. It took us a long time to get there. But we did. He's been outstanding for us."For me as a head coach, John's been a fantastic assistant. Obviously, I wish him all the best in the future. Now I've got to start the job of looking to fill his shoes, and they are big shoes to fill."
