Shamed former Cardiff City striker signs for new team after being...

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, a former striker for Cardiff City, has returned to playing football just weeks after being

released from prison for his involvement in a drug smuggling scheme worth £600,000.

After being released on parole earlier this month, the 34-year-old, was briefly loaned to the Bluebirds in 2011, has

joined with AFC Totton of the National League South.

Emmanuel-Thomas was sentenced to four years in jail after he recruited two women to travel to Thailand, where

cannabis was collected before they flew back to this country.

After disembarking from a flight from Bangkok in September of last year, the unintentional couriers were detained

by Border Force personnel at Stansted Airport because they thought their bags contained gold.

Upon searching their cases, cops discovered 132 pounds, or 60 kilogrammes, of cannabis.

Prior to his arrest, Emmanuel-Thomas, who was playing for Greenock Morton in the Scottish Championship,

entered a guilty plea to fraudulently evading the cannabis import ban.

Prior to the June sentencing, he had previously spent ten months in HMP Chelmsford on remand before being freed

earlier this month.

The former academy product of Arsenal has now unexpectedly returned to the game.

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome Jay Emmanuel-Thomas to the club,” AFC Totton wrote on social media

Tuesday, announcing the signing.

“Jay joins us with a wealth of experience in the Championship and we’re sure his goals will lead to a successful

season here on the South Coast.”

Emmanuel-Thomas scored twice in 16 games during a brief loan from Arsenal to Cardiff City in 2011.

Prior to periods at QPR, Livingston, and Aberdeen, he had more successful experiences with Ipswich Town and

Bristol City, where he scored 33 goals in 103 games between 2013 and 2015.

After his arrest last year, his most recent team, Greenock Morton in the Scottish Championship, terminated his

contract.

Sportupdates