A former Ipswich Town footballer has denied attempting to smuggle £600,000 of cannabis through Stansted Airport. 

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, who played for the Suffolk team between 2011 and 2013, is charged with importing Class B drugs together with co-defendants Rosie Rowland and Yasmin Piotrowska between July 1 and September 2 of this year. 

The 33-year-old striker, who was sacked by Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton after his arrest last month, appeared before Chelmsford Crown Court via video-link from HMP Durham on Friday, entering a plea of not guilty.

Co-defendants Rowland, 28, of Southend Road, Chelmsford, and 33-year-old Piotrowska of Purves Road, north-west London, also pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Emmanuel-Thomas, of Cardwell Road in Gourock, Inverclyde, was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers last month and was questioned before he was remanded into custody.

His arrest came after the NCA seized an estimated £600,000 of the Class B drug as it was being smuggled through Stansted Airport on September 2.

Officers detected roughly 60kg of the drug in two suitcases, which had arrived via a flight from Bangkok, Thailand.

Emmanuel-Thomas has previously played for Arsenal, Bristol City, Queens Park Rangers and Thai side PTT Rayong.

A trial, which is estimated to last between five and seven days, is set to take place on a date that has not yet been fixed, with a further case management hearing scheduled for January 6, 2025. 

Judge Christopher Morgan remanded Emmanuel-Thomas in custody and bailed Rowland and Piotrowska. 

The judge said the trial could provisionally take place in May.