Professional footballer Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has appeared in court on suspicion of drug importation after £600,000 worth of cannabis was found in suitcases at a UK airport.
Emmanuel-Thomas, a 33-year-old striker who currently plays for Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton, was arrested earlier this week by officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) on suspicion of orchestrating the attempted importation of £600,000 worth of cannabis through Stansted Airport.
A spokesman for the agency confirmed that a 33-year-old man was arrested in Gourock, Inverclyde, at around 8am yesterday during an operation supported by officers from Police Scotland.
The footballer was taken to Carlisle for questioning and appeared before Deputy District Judge Steven Jonas at the city’s magistrates’ court early on Thursday afternoon.
Father-of-two Emmanuel-Thomas, of Cardwell Road, Gourock, faces one charge. This charge is drug importation and specifically that he was concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a ban on the importation of a class B drug – cannabis. Court documents show the offence allegedly occurred in the London area on September 2 this year.
Professional footballer Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has appeared in court accused of drug importation after stealing £600,000 worth of cannabis
About 60kg of the substance was found in a number of suitcases at Stansted Airport
An agency spokesman confirmed that a 33-year-old man was arrested in Gourock, Inverclyde, just after 8am yesterday during an operation supported by officers from Police Scotland.
During a 15-minute court hearing, Emmanuel-Thomas — who led Arsenal to the Youth Cup final in 2009 — spoke clearly to confirm his name, date of birth and address. He appeared in the dock wearing a mustard-coloured ESSENTIALS designer long-sleeved shirt, with his dreadlocks tied back and a beard.
No plea was entered to the charge when it was read to him by the court’s legal adviser on the instructions of his lawyer, Nathaniel Gadsby. ‘There is no indication of a plea,’ Mr Gadsby confirmed. ‘There is very little information (in the court file); only four witness statements. It is almost impossible to say what is even charged, I’m afraid.’
Mr Gadsby said of Emmanuel-Thomas: ‘He strongly denies any involvement in any plan to import drugs into the UK. He is keen to clear his name at trial.’
The lawyer also said: ‘Mr Emmanuel-Thomas is a 33-year-old man, of good character, no convictions. He has been a professional footballer all his adult life and has played for a number of top teams in the UK.’
Prosecutor Diane Jackson told the court how two women – one of whom she said was Emmanuel-Thomas’ partner – were arrested after travelling business class from Bangkok to the UK via Dubai.
A total of four suitcases were reportedly seized. Two of them contained 29kg of cannabis, while the other two contained 31kg. The estimated total potential street value of the drug was £600,000.
Emmanuel-Thomas (second left) won the FA Youth Cup with Arsenal in 2009, along with Jack Wilshere (left), Shanchez Watt (second right) and Cedric Evina (right).
He joined Arsenal at the age of eight and made his debut for the club in 2010, before moving to Ipswich a year later.
Emmanuel-Thomas has played for a number of professional clubs both north and south of the border over the past 15 years
It was said that evidence from the phone had been collected by law enforcement. And Ms Jackson claimed of Emmanuel-Thomas: ‘It shows that he did extensive research into flights and directions; which airports the women were coming to. It is said that this is not the first trip he has arranged.’
The district judge indicated that he considered Emmanuel-Thomas’s plea for administrative disposal to be a plea of not guilty.
According to a legal adviser, the charge was of such a nature that it could be dealt with by a police judge or a court.
Deputy District Judge Jonas ruled that the allegation was too serious to be dealt with by a police judge.
Emmanuel-Thomas was remanded in custody after a bail application was rejected.
His case was referred for a plea and trial preparation hearing on October 18, initially at Carlisle Crown Court.
Emmanuel-Thomas’ court appearance follows the arrest of two women, aged 28 and 32, in Stansted on September 2. Border Force are said to have found around 60kg of the drug in a number of suitcases that arrived on a flight from Bangkok.
He was also once described by Arsène Wenger as someone with ‘excellent quality’ and ‘great potential’
After being questioned by the NCA, they were both charged with drug importation offences. They were bailed at an initial magistrates’ court hearing to appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on 1 October.
Emmanuel-Thomas has played for a number of professional clubs both north and south of the border over the past 15 years, including Ipswich Town, Bristol City, QPR and Aberdeen.
David Phillips, Chief Investigator at the NCA, said: ‘The NCA continues to work with partners such as Border Force to target those involved in drug trafficking. That includes both couriers and organisers.
‘We urge anyone who is approached to take part 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.’
Emmanuel-Thomas joined Arsenal’s youth system at the age of eight, but failed to make an impression in the first team after graduating from the Gunners’ academy.
He made his Premier League debut for the club in a 2–0 defeat to Chelsea in October 2010. He made his Champions League debut a month later in a 2–1 defeat to Shakhtar, before leaving Arsenal to join Ipswich in 2011 for £1.1million.
Emmanuel-Thomas was 19 when he made his debut for Arsenal’s first team, impressing legendary Gunners manager Wenger and also helping the club win the FA Youth Cup in the 2008–09 season.
Emmanuel-Thomas scored 33 goals in 103 games for Bristol City between 2013 and 2015
During his professional career, the footballer also played for Bristol City, QPR, MK Dons and Gillingham
“Jay is knocking on my door very hard – with both hands. He has excellent quality,” the ex-Arsenal boss said Arsenal TV Online in 2010, according to ESPN. ‘He’s working very hard to get his fitness right. If he gets his fitness right, Jay will not only be a good player, he’ll be a great player.
“One thing is for sure – he can score goals. That’s a huge talent that you can’t give to people, his right leg, left leg, he’s incredible in front of goal.
“This guy is an incredible finisher, inside and outside the box. He has excellent qualities, he has the build you dream of. It depends on how far he wants to go, because he has a lot of potential.”
Speaking to Mail Sport about his departure from Arsenal in 2015, Emmanuel-Thomas admitted he wanted to play more first-team football and decided to move to Ipswich.
He said: ‘I didn’t want to be the person who kept coming back when people were injured and getting fit again, so I had to move on.’
In a separate interview he said: ‘It obviously got to a point in my career at Arsenal where I had to play games. I had to make a decision and Ipswich seemed the right place for me.
‘I’ve had a great time at Arsenal and I’ll miss the lads, but my future is about me and I had to move on.’
The 33-year-old is expected to appear before Carlisle Magistrates Court on Thursday to face the charges
The striker also spent time in India between 2022 and 2023 for Super League club Jamshedpur FC
The 33-year-old is expected to appear before Carlisle Magistrates Court on Thursday to face the charges
After spells at Bristol City, QPR and Gillingham, the 33-year-old left the UK to play for Thai side PTT Rayong FC. However, Emmanuel-Thomas would later return to the UK and has played for Livingston, Aberdeen and Kidderminster in recent years.
Speaking about his playing style, Emmanuel-Thomas also told Mail Sport: ‘When something comes to me on a football pitch, I never think: ‘I better not do that, otherwise I’ll lose the ball’. I’m more of a person who thinks: ‘If I try that, it will work’.’