Former Arsenal academy graduate Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has been charged after £600,000 of cannabis was seized at Stansted Airport.
The 33-year-old was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers on Wednesday morning and has since been charged.
Emmanuel-Thomas was detained in Gourock, a Scottish town 30 miles west of Glasgow, before being taken across the border into England to be questioned.
It comes after 60kg of drugs believed to be worth £600,000 was discovered in two suitcases by Border Force officers that arrived at Stansted Airport on 2 September from Bangkok, Thailand.
The maximum sentence for smuggling cannabis into the UK is 14 years in prison.
Emmanuel-Thomas is due to appear before Carlisle Magistrates on Thursday, September 19.
David Phillips, NCA senior investigating officer, said in a statement: “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.”
Two women aged 28 and 32 have also been arrested in connection, with the pair charged with alleged drug importation offences.
Both women went before Chelmsford Magistrates and will appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on 1 October.
The NCA had issued a warning to those arriving into the country from Thailand, Canada and the United States that they could face jail time if caught trying to smuggle cannabis into the UK following a rise in arrests.
It’s claimed the amount of cannabis seized already this year is more than three times that in 2023.
Emmanuel-Thomas started his career in the Arsenal academy, before going on to make five senior appearances for the Gunners.
The London-born attacker underwent a series of loan moves while on Arsenal’s books, eventually leaving on a permanent deal to Ipswich Town in 2011.
Spells at Bristol City, Queens Park Rangers and Milton Keynes Dons followed, prior to Emmanuel-Thomas joining Thai club PTT Rayong in 2019.
The ex-Arsenal man returned to the UK to sign for Scottish side Livingston, before moving to Aberdeen in 2021.
Since then, he’s played for Jamshedpur in India, Kidderminster Harriers and most recently Greenock Morton.
