Jay Emmanuel-Thomas
Professional footballer, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, has appeared in court after he was charged with orchestrating the attempted importation of drugs.
The 33-year-old striker, who currently plays for Greenock Morton, was arrested at his home in Gourock, near Glasgow, on Wednesday and taken to Carlisle for questioning.
The father-of-two did not enter a plea to the charge at Carlisle Magistrates Court, but his lawyer said he “strenuously” denied involvement in any plan to import drugs to the UK and he wanted to clear his name at trial.
It comes after officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) discovered 60kg of cannabis with an estimated value of £600,000 in suitcases arriving at Stansted Airport from Bangkok.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas is a former England under-17 and under-19 international who has previously played for clubs including Livingston, Aberdeen, Ipswich Town, Bristol City, Queens Park Rangers, Arsenal, Cardiff City and Thai team PTT Rayong.
The striker signed a six-month contract with Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton in July.
Prosecutor Diane Jackson told the court that two women aged 28 and 32, had been arrested following the discovery of the drugs.
She said that they were travelling business class into the UK from Bangkok via Dubai.
The court heard that one of the women is the partner of Emmanuel-Thomas.
A total of four suitcases were said to have been seized. Some 29kg of cannabis were spread across two of these, with 31kg contained in the remaining two.
After being questioned by the NCA, both women were charged with drug importation offences.