Former Arsenal footballer Jay Emmanuel-Thomas denies trying to smuggle cannabis worth £600k through Stansted Airport

Footballer Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has denied trying to smuggle £600,000 worth of cannabis through Stansted Airport.

The 33-year-old, who wore a grey prison-issue tracksuit as he appeared before Chelmsford Crown Court via video link from HMP Durham on Friday, pleaded not guilty to importing class B drugs.

The footballer played for Greenock Morton in the Scottish Championship but was sacked following his arrest last month.

The former Arsenal academy striker has also played for Livingston, Aberdeen, Ipswich Town, Bristol City, Queens Park Rangers, and Thai side PTT Rayong.

He and his co-defendants – Rosie Rowland, 28, from Chelmsford, and 33-year-old Londoner Yasmin Piotrowska – are accused of the alleged offence between 1 July and 2 September of this year.

All three denied the charge.

Emmanuel-Thomas, of Cardwell Road in Gourock, Inverclyde, was arrested in the town by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers last month and was questioned before he was remanded into custody.

The footballer was held after the NCA seized around £600,000 of cannabis as it was being smuggled through Stansted on 2 September.

Border Force officers detected roughly 60kg of the drug in two suitcases, which had arrived via a flight from Bangkok.

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A trial, expected to take five to seven days, could provisionally take place in May, Judge Christopher Morgan said, as he scheduled a further case management hearing for January.

Judge Morgan remanded Emmanuel-Thomas in custody and bailed Rowland and Piotrowska until then.