Ex Arsenal footballer sacked after £600,000 smuggling cannabis charge

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Former Arsenal academy star Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has been sacked from his football team after being charged with attempting to smuggle £600,000 of cannabis through Stansted Airport.

The 33-year-old striker, who had been playing for Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton, has had his contract terminated with immediate effect.

He was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers shortly after 8am on Wednesday in Gourock, Inverclyde, and is accused of trying to smuggle the drugs from Bangkok.

The arrest came after the NCA seized an estimated £600,000 of the class B drug as it was being smuggled through Stansted Airport on 2 September.

Border Force officers detected roughly 60kg of the drug in two suitcases, which had arrived via a flight from Thailand.

The former Livingston, Aberdeen and Arsenal academy player was detained and questioned by officers, and has been remanded in custody ahead of an expected court appearance on Thursday.

In a statement, his current club confirmed: “Greenock Morton FC can confirm that the contract of Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has been terminated with immediate effect.

“The club will be making no further comment on the matter.”

Emmanuel-Thomas has also played for Ipswich Town, Bristol City, Queens Park Rangers and Thai side PTT Rayong.

Emmanuel-Thomas is expected to appear before Carlisle Magistrates’ Court on Thursday accused of importing class B drugs.

Two women, aged 28 and 32, were arrested and appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court. They were bailed to appear before Chelmsford Crown Court on October 1.

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.”

It comes after the NCA issued a warning to travellers arriving into the UK from Thailand, Canada and the United States that they face jail sentences if caught attempting to bring cannabis into the country, after a huge upsurge in arrests.

So far this year, the agency says the amount of cannabis seized is more than three times that in 2023.

The NCA also said drug couriers often report being told by their superiors they only risk a fine if caught, when in reality the maximum sentence for smuggling cannabis into the UK is 14 years behind bars.