Sports News | Former Arsenal Soccer Player Arrested for Alleged $800,000 Drug Smuggling from Thailand
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. A soccer player who once appeared for Arsenal in the Champions League has been charged in connection with trying to smuggle cannabis worth 600,000 pounds ($800,000) through a British airport.
London, Sep 19 (AP) A soccer player who once appeared for Arsenal in the Champions League has been charged in connection with trying to smuggle cannabis worth 600,000 pounds ($800,000) through a British airport.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, who currently plays for Scottish second-tier team Greenock Morton, was arrested at his home near Glasgow early Wednesday, the Press Association agency reported Thursday.
Emmanuel-Thomas was detained by police and taken to the northern English city of Carlisle to be questioned, the National Crime Agency said.
The 33-year-old forward started his career with Arsenal, where he played five games including in the Champions League at Shakhtar Donetsk in November 2010.
He later played for English clubs Ipswich, Bristol City and Queens Park Rangers, Aberdeen in Scotland, and in Thailand for PTT Rayong.
The drug-smuggling case followed customs officers detecting about 60 kilograms (130 pounds) of cannabis in two suitcases at Stansted airport near London that arrived on a flight from Bangkok on Sept. 2. Two women were arrested.
Emmanuel-Thomas is expected to appear in court Thursday in Carlisle accused of importing class B drugs, PA reported.
In August, the National Crime Agency warned travelers arriving from Thailand, Canada and the United States that they face jail sentences if caught attempting to bring cannabis into the United Kingdom. The maximum sentence for drug couriers is 14 years. (AP) AM
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)