Former Arsenal footballer Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has been sacked by his club Greenock Morton FC after being charged for alleged drug smuggling.
The 33-year-old was arrested and taken in for questioning on Wednesday, September 16, 2024. According to reports, Emmanuel-Thomas would have possibly had a soft landing but failed to enter a plea to the charge at Carlisle Magistrates Court. He “strenuously” denied involvement in any plan to import drugs to the UK.
His arrest and prosecution came after officers from the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) discovered 60kg of cannabis with an estimated value of £600,000 in suitcases arriving at Stansted Airport from Bangkok.
Testifying in court, the prosecutors said two women aged 28 and 32 had been arrested following the discovery of the drugs.
Further details reveal the women were travelling business class into the UK from Bangkok via Dubai. One of the women is said to be a close relative of Emmanuel-Thomas. Both have been charged with drug importation offences.
Phone evidence was said to have been collected by law enforcement officers, the court heard.
The prosecution further revealed that extensive research was carried out into flights and airports after tips by whistleblowers.
What does Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’s lawyer say?
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’s lawyer, Nathaniel Gadsby, has insisted the allegations are unfounded as his client has never been involved in drug smuggling as claimed.
“He does strenuously deny any involvement in any plan to import drugs into the UK. He is eager to clear his name at trial.
“Mr Emmanuel-Thomas is a 33-year-old man, good character, no convictions.
“He has been a professional football player for all his adult life and played at a number of top teams across the UK,” he said.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel-Thomas has been remanded in custody after a bail application was rejected.
Jay Emmanuel career
Jay Aston Emmanuel-Thomson was born December 27, 1990. He began his career with Arsenal, joining their youth team at the age of eight and was finally promoted to the senior team after eight years in the reserves.
However, he was unable to secure a regular spot in the first team, featuring just once in for them, before being sent on loan to several lower-division clubs.
He eventually called time on his thirteen years stay with Arsenal and moved to Ipswich Town in 2011. After Ipswich, he joined Bristol City in 2013.
It was at Bristol City that he breath life back to his career. He scored double-digits in a season for the first time and grab his first professional career hat trick.
However, things revert back to a sour note following Bristol City’s new star signings, Kieran Agard and Aaron Wilbraham. He was down the pecking order again and found game time hard to come by. He would go on to join Queens Park Rangers after the expiration of his contract with Bristol City.
His move to QPR saw him go through several loan spells for the second time in his career. He had spells with Milton Keynes Dons and Gillingham during his three-year stay at the club.
Following his departure from Queens Park Rangers, he plyed his trade for PTT Rayong in Thailand, Scottish club Livingston, Aberdeen, Jamshedpur of India, and the National club side of England Kidderminster Harriers before moving to Greenock Morton.
Emmanuel-Thomas has played for the England under-17 team. In December 2009, he was part of the under-19 squad that qualified for the Elite qualifying round of the 2009 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.
Jay Emanuel-Thomas career stats
Jay Emanuel-Thomas found game time hard to come by during his two-year stay with the Arsenal senior team. He featured just once across all competitions for the Gunners.
However, during his loan spells at Blackpool, Doncaster Rovers and Cardiff City, he scored eight times in 39 appearances.
His permanent move to Ipswich City saw him score eight times in 71 matches.
He had his best spell during his stay at Bristol City, scoring 33 times in 103 games for the club.
He went on to score five times in 15 games for QPR, before going on to score 23 times in 143 times across spells at Milton Keynes Dons, Gillingham, PTT Rayong, Livingston, Aberdeen, Jamshedpur, Kidderminster Harriers and Greenock Morton.
Jay Emanuel-Thomas Contract, salary and market value
The striker was on a six-month contract with Greenock Morton and earned $
£2,284 weekly and had a yearly salary of $
£118, 780. He is worth in the £100k region. He is currently a free agent after being sacked by Greenock Morton.
