Former soccer player Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has been sentenced to four years in prison for his role in orchestrating the smuggling of over 132 pounds (60 kilograms) of cannabis worth around $800,000, according to both the Chelmsford Crown Court and the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
Emmanuel-Thomas – whose former clubs include Premier League side Arsenal and recently relegated Ipswich Town – recruited two women to collect the cannabis from Thailand and transport it back to the UK, the NCA said in a statement.
The two women involved were stopped by authorities in September after landing at Stansted Airport having flown from Bangkok and were originally charged with smuggling cannabis. However, the pair believed that they were transporting gold in two suitcases each, according to the NCA, and their charges were dropped.
The NCA said Emmanuel-Thomas admitted last month to orchestrating the plot and “was the intermediary between suppliers in Thailand and drug pushers in the UK.”
Appearing in court on Thursday, Emmanuel-Thomas was sentenced to four years in prison, the NCA confirmed.
According to Reuters, Judge Alexander Mills told Emmanuel-Thomas as he sat in the dock: “Your transition from professional footballer to criminal represents a substantial fall from grace, one that effectively ends the only career path that you have ever known.”
According to the BBC, the former soccer player had handwritten a letter which was read out in court, saying that the past year has been “the most harmful and eye-opening of my life” and “unbearable” at times.
Emmanuel-Thomas’ attorney, Alex Rose, said that his client turned to crime after encountering “significant financial hard times” while out of contract during his career, the BBC reported.
CNN has reached out to Emmanuel-Thomas and has made attempts to reach out to his attorney for comment on the sentencing.
NCA’s senior investigating officer David Philips said in a statement, “We urge anyone asked to bring something into the UK that they’re unsure of to simply say no.”
“Organised criminals like Thomas are invariably very persuasive with promises of payments and other enticements to couriers. But the risk of getting caught is very high and it simply isn’t worth the risk.”
The 34-year-old forward was playing for Scottish side Greenock Morton around the time of his arrest in September last year. The club subsequently terminated his contract with immediate effect.
He had started his career at Arsenal’s academy and went on to play for other British clubs including Bristol City, Queens Park Rangers and Cardiff City.
He also represented England’s youth teams and played in both India and Thailand at the back end of his career.
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