Professional footballer Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has admitted guilt to a cannabis importation charge related to an attempt to smuggle £600,000 worth of the drug through Stansted Airport from Thailand.

The 34-year-old forward was dismissed by Scottish Championship team Greenock Morton following his arrest last year.

The former player from Livingston, Aberdeen, and Arsenal academy altered his plea to guilty during a hearing on May 7, which is now being reported after restrictions were lifted on Wednesday.

Emmanuel-Thomas pleaded guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court in Essex for the fraudulent evasion of the prohibition on importing cannabis between July 1, 2024, and September 2, 2024.

He had initially denied the charges when entering a plea in October last year.

The athlete, who has also represented Ipswich Town, Bristol City, Queens Park Rangers, and Thai side PTT Rayong, is currently in custody awaiting sentencing on a date yet to be set.

Emmanuel-Thomas, residing on Cardwell Road in Gourock, Inverclyde, Scotland, was apprehended by National Crime Agency officers in September 2024.

His arrest followed the agency's seizure of approximately £600,000 worth of the class B drug, which was being smuggled through Stansted Airport on September 2.

Border Force officials discovered about 60kg (132lb) of the substance in two suitcases that arrived on a flight from Bangkok, Thailand.

Co-defendants Rosie Rowland and Yasmin Piotrowska, who both denied the charges, will face no further proceedings as prosecutors have withdrawn evidence against them.

Prosecutor David Josse KC stated that 'at all relevant times, they claimed they believed they were importing gold, not cannabis, both before and after the events.'

Judge Christopher Morgan ordered not guilty verdicts for Rowland and Piotrowska, allowing them to leave the court.

Rowland, 29, from Southend Road, Chelmsford, Essex, and Piotrowska, 33, from Purves Road, Kensal Rise, north-west London, were emotional as they exited the dock.

Emmanuel-Thomas participated in Wednesday's hearing via video-link from Chelmsford Prison.

He requested to attend his sentencing hearing in person, with the date to be arranged administratively.