Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, the former footballer, has admitted to a charge of cannabis importation following an attempt to smuggle £600,000 worth of the drug through Stansted Airport from Thailand.

The 34-year-old striker was given his marching orders by Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton after being nicked last year. The ex-Arsenal academy player changed his plea to guilty at a hearing on May 7, which can now be reported after reporting restrictions were lifted on Wednesday.

Emmanuel-Thomas pleaded guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court in Essex to fraudulent evasion of the prohibition on the importation of cannabis between July 1 2024 and September 2 2024. He had previously denied the charges when asked to enter a plea in October last year.

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The footballer, who has turned out for clubs including Ipswich, Bristol City, QPR, Livingston, Aberdeen and Thai side PTT Rayong, was remanded in custody ahead of his sentencing on a date yet to be confirmed.

Emmanuel-Thomas, of Cardwell Road in Gourock, Inverclyde, Scotland, was arrested in the town by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers in September 2024 after the NCA seized an estimated £600,000 of the class B drug as it was being smuggled through Stansted on September 2, reports .

Border Force officers detected roughly 60kg (132lb) of the drug in two suitcases, which had arrived via a flight from Bangkok, Thailand. Co-defendants Rosie Rowland and Yasmin Piotrowska, who both denied the charge, face no further action after prosecutors offered no evidence in their case.

Prosecutor David Josse KC stated that "at all material times they maintained both before the events that led to the importation and after the events they said they thought they were importing gold not cannabis".

Judge Christopher Morgan ordered not guilty verdicts for Rowland and Piotrowska, allowing them to walk free from the dock.

Rowland, aged 29, from Southend Road in Chelmsford, Essex, and Piotrowska, 33, of Purves Road in Kensal Rise, North-West London, were visibly emotional as they left the courtroom.

Emmanuel-Thomas, who appeared via video-link from Chelmsford Prison during Wednesday's hearing, expressed his preference to attend his sentencing in person; the date will be arranged administratively.

The striker, a product of Arsenal's youth system, was with the Gunners' first team from 2008 to 2011, during which he had loan stints at Blackpool, Doncaster Rovers, and Cardiff City.

Following his time at Arsenal, Emmanuel-Thomas transferred to Ipswich Town, then Bristol City, and later Queens Park Rangers. By 2019, he was playing for Thai side PTT Rayong, but in recent years, he has played for Scottish teams Livingston, Aberdeen, and Greenock Morton.

He also earned several caps for England's youth teams.