High stakes: British soccer star’s £600k cannabis own goal
Professional footballer Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has been charged in a sensational attempt to smuggle £600,000 worth of cannabis through Stansted Airport. The 33 year old striker, currently playing for Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton, was nabbed by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers at dawn yesterday, September 18, in Gourock, Inverclyde.
The ex-Livingston, Aberdeen, and Arsenal academy star, who resides on Cardwell Road in Gourock, was taken into custody and grilled by officers before being remanded, pending a court date on Thursday. Emmanuel-Thomas, whose career has seen him don the kits of Ipswich Town, Bristol City, Queens Park Rangers, and Thai side PTT Rayong, now finds himself facing serious legal woes.
The dramatic arrest followed a major bust on September 2, when NCA officers intercepted nearly 60 kilogrammes of cannabis, valued at about £600,000, being slipped through Stansted in two suitcases from a flight originating in Bangkok, Thailand.
Emmanuel-Thomas is expected to face the music at Carlisle Magistrates Court today, accused of importing class B drugs. In a twist to the tale, two women, aged 28 and 32, were also collared and have already appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court. They were released on bail and are slated to reappear at Chelmsford Crown Court on October 1, reported The Standard.
NCA senior investigating officer David Phillips issued a stark warning.
“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 urge anyone approached to engage in such activities to think very carefully about the dire consequences and life-altering risks.”
The bust comes amid an NCA crackdown on travellers attempting to smuggle cannabis into the UK from hotspots like Thailand, Canada, and the United States.
The NCA has witnessed a staggering surge in arrests and stresses that cannabis seizures this year have tripled compared to 2023. Drug mules, often misled by superiors about the risks, face a harsh reality: the maximum penalty for smuggling cannabis into the UK is a daunting 14 years in prison.
