A professional footballer has confessed to participating in a scheme to smuggle drugs valued at £600,000 from Thailand into the UK.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, aged 34, was apprehended when authorities discovered 60kg (9.44 stone) of cannabis concealed in luggage arriving at London Stansted Airport in Essex on September 2.

Following his arrest and subsequent charges, he was dismissed by Scottish club Greenock Morton. Emmanuel-Thomas has previously played for Arsenal, Aberdeen, Ipswich Town, and represented England at the youth level.

The father of two is set to receive his sentence at Chelmsford Crown Court at a future date.

Emmanuel-Thomas, residing on Cardwell Road in Gourock, near Glasgow, pleaded guilty to the charges in May. Reporting restrictions on the case were lifted on Wednesday.

Prosecutor David Josse KC remarked that this case followed an “extensive investigation” by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Prosecution dropped charges against Rosie Rowland, 28, from Southend Road in Chelmsford, and 33-year-old Yasmin Piotrowska from Purves Road in north-west London, which Mr. Josse informed the court about.

The two women were emotional as they were permitted to leave the stand after initially denying accusations of importing cannabis between July 1 and September 2.

Mr. Josse explained that the inquiry into their roles was halted following an analysis of Emmanuel-Thomas’s mobile phone data.

“They believed they were trafficking gold instead of cannabis,” the prosecutor stated.