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Professional footballer Jay Emmanuel Thomas, 34, was sentenced to four years in when he appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court today after he recruited two women to travel to Thailand, collect the cannabis and smuggle it to the UK.
Thomas admitted the plot last month.
His girlfriend, Yasmin Piotrowska, 33, and her friend Rosie Rowland, 29, were stopped by Border Force officers at Stansted Airport after landing on a flight from Bangkok on September 2.
Arsenal Academy product – Jay Emmanuel Thomas (Image: National Crime Agency)
They had two suitcases each, which were searched, and a total of 60kg of cannabis – 15kg in each bag – was recovered.
Piotrowska, of Kensal Green, London, and Rowland, of Chelmsford, were charged with smuggling cannabis.
But the case was dropped against the two women who said they believed they were transporting gold.
Seized – Thomas’ girlfriend and her friend were caught at Stansted Airport (Image: National Crime Agency)
It is believed Thomas – who also played for Queens Park Rangers, Ipswich Town and PTT Rayong in Thailand in 2019 – was the intermediary between suppliers in Thailand and drug pushers in the UK.
The investigation revealed, with Thomas’ encouragement, the women had made a near identical trip – all expenses paid and a promised payment of £2,500 – a few months earlier in July.
Thomas, of Gourock, near Glasgow, was arrested on September 18 last year after he had signed for Greenock Morton FC in Scotland.
On his way to custody after being arrested, he said unprompted: “I just feel sorry for the girls.”
Risk – the cannabis uncovered by border force officers at Stansted (Image: National Crime Agency)
David Philips, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “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.
“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.”
“}]] A FORMER Arsenal prodigy who orchestrated the smuggling of £600,000 worth of cannabis through an Essex airport has been jailed today Read More
