BBC News, Essex
Getty ImagesA professional footballer has admitted his involvement in a plot to smuggle drugs with a street value of £600,000 from Thailand into the UK.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, 34, was arrested after 60kg (9.44st) of cannabis was found in suitcases arriving at London Stansted Airport, Essex, on 2 September.
He was sacked by Scottish club Greenock Morton after being charged, having previously played for Arsenal, Aberdeen, Ipswich Town and England at youth level.
The father-of-two will be sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court at a later date.
NCAEmmanuel-Thomas, of Cardwell Road, Gourock, near Glasgow, pleaded guilty to the offence in May. Reporting restrictions on the case were lifted on Wednesday.
Prosecutor David Josse KC said it followed a “very thorough investigation” by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Charges against Rosie Rowland, 28, of Southend Road, Chelmsford, and 33-year-old Yasmin Piotrowska, of Purves Road, north-west London, had been dropped by the prosecution, he told the court.
They wept as they were allowed to leave the dock, having denied importing cannabis between 1 July and 2 September at earlier hearings.
Mr Josse said the investigation into their involvement was discontinued after analysis of Emmanuel-Thomas’s mobile phone.
“They thought they were importing gold, not cannabis,” the prosecutor said.
Emmanuel-Thomas made one first team appearance for Arsenal, also going on to play for Bristol City, Queens Park Rangers, MK Dons, and Thai-based team PTT Rayong in 2019.
He was sacked by Scottish side Greenock Morton FC after being arrested at his home in on 18 September.
The NCA previously said the drugs arrived in suitcases from Bangkok via Dubai.
The maximum sentence for smuggling cannabis into the UK is 14 years in jail.
