Ex-Arsenal striker risks serving 5-year jail term for possession of cannabis 

According to the Telegraph, former Arsenal striker Jay Emmanuel-Thomas risks being sentenced to imprisonment after a huge amount of cannabis was discovered in his luggage by the National Crime Agency.

He has now been charged to court for an attempt to smuggle £600,000 worth of Cannabis into Scotland from Stansted Airport.

Upon being caught in possession of Cannabis, he was detained and questioned by officers of the airport and has been put in custody ahead of his hearing on Thursday at the Carlisle Magistrate Court.

The importation of drugs into the United Kingdom has increased massively as the National Crime Agency have confirmed that the amount of drugs seized this year is already way more than that of 2023.

Before Emmanuel-Thomas’s arrest, the NCA had issued a warning to immigrants, particularly from Thailand, Canada and the United States, to desist from bringing drugs to the UK.

Should he be found guilty of possessing Cannabis, he risks serving up to 5 years jail term, having to pay a hefty fine or getting both punishments.

The 33-year-old has had a topsy-turvy career which has seen him play for 11 teams since leaving Arsenal in 2011.

He started his career with the North London club and is a product of the famous Hale End Academy, but he could only make one senior appearance before his departure, which was against Stoke City in the fourth round of the FA Cup in 2010.

The London forward has signed a six-month contract with Scottish lower-division side Greenock Morton and is currently on their books.

This is their second spell in Scotland. He played for Aberdeen and Livingston between 2020 and 2022 and was a Scottish League Cup runner-up with the latter.