And on September 18, 2024, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, 33, was arrested on charges of attempted importation of drugs from Bangkok.
“The risk of getting caught is very high, and it simply isn’t worth it.”
In court on October 24, he denied any wrongdoing. But in May, at the Chelmsford Crown Court, he changed his plea—admitting to smuggling roughly 60 kilograms (132 pounds) of cannabis, valued at about $800,000.
He had told his girlfriend, Yasmin Piotrowska, 33, and her friend Rosie Rowland, 29, that the four suitcases they were carrying for him contained gold. But when they were stopped by Border Force officers at Stansted Airport after landing on a flight from Bangkok, the suitcases were searched, the cannabis found and the women arrested.
On his way to custody, Emmanuel-Thomas said, “I just feel sorry for the girls.”
Piotrowska and Rowland, however, were acquitted after claiming they had been duped.
On June 5, Emmanuel-Thomas was sentenced to four years in prison.
“Organized crime groups make significant profits by trafficking and selling perceived high-quality cannabis legally grown in the US, Canada and Thailand illegally in the UK,” National Crime Agency senior investigating officer David Philips said in a statement. “Organized criminals like Thomas can be very persuasive and offer payment to couriers. But the risk of getting caught is very high, and it simply isn’t worth it.”
Upon his arrest in September, Emmanuel-Thomas’ team, the Scottish Greenock Morton Football Club, fired him.
He was considered a versatile forward who could play other positions as well.
But his professional career is over.
What a waste.
