Former Arsenal striker Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has appeared in court charged with orchestrating the attempted smuggling of £600,000 worth of cannabis through Stansted Airport.

The 33-year-old, who currently plays for Scottish Championship club Greenock Morton, was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers shortly after 8am on Wednesday in Gourock, Inverclyde.

Emmanuel-Thomas, who also played for the likes of Ipswich Town, Queens Park Rangers and Bristol City before moving to Scotland, did not enter a plea at Carlisle Magistrates’ Court the following day but his lawyer said: “He does strenuously deny any involvement in any plan to import drugs into the UK. He is eager to clear his name at trial.”

His no-plea was treated as a not-guilty plea but he was remanded in custody after an application for bail was rejected.

Emmanuel-Thomas starred for both Arsenal and England at youth level, but made only one senior appearance for the club before leaving in 2011.

The court was told his partner and another woman had been arrested and charged following the seizure of four suitcases containing drugs, which had arrived via a flight from Bangkok on Sept 2.

They appeared before Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court and were bailed to appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on Oct 1.

Emmanuel-Thomas had played in Thailand in 2019 before returning to the UK to join Livingston and later Aberdeen.

NCA senior investigating officer David Phillips said: “The NCA continues to work with partners like Border Force to target those involved in drug smuggling – that includes both the couriers and the organisers.

“We would appeal to anyone who is approached to engage in any kind of smuggling to think very carefully about the likely consequences of their actions and the potentially life-changing risks they will be taking.”

The charges against Emmanuel-Thomas come after the NCA issued a warning to travellers arriving into the UK from Thailand, Canada and the United States that they faced jail if caught attempting to bring cannabis into the country, after a huge upsurge in arrests.

So far this year, the agency says the amount of the drug seized is more than three times that in 2023.

The NCA also said drug couriers often report being told by their superiors they only risk a fine if caught, despite the maximum sentence for smuggling cannabis into the UK being 14 years behind bars.