The 34-year-old striker who has played for Queens Park Rangers, Cardiff City, Milton Keynes Dons and Jamshedpur in India was sacked by by Scottish club Greenock Morton after his arrest last year. His arrest came after 60kg (9.44st) of cannabis was found in suitcases arriving at London Stansted Airport, Essex, on the 2nd September.
He had previously denied the charge of fraudulent evasion of the prohibition on the importation but admitted the offence at Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday. David Philips, NCA senior investigating officer spoke on the case and pleaded with those thinking about committing a similar act to think twice.
"Organised crime groups make significant profits by trafficking and selling perceived high-quality cannabis legally grown in the US, Canada and Thailand illegally in the UK.
"Organised criminals like Emmanuel-Thomas can be very persuasive and offer payment to couriers. But the risk of getting caught is very high and it simply isn't worth it."
Co-defendants Rosie Rowland, 29, and Yasmin Piotrowska, 33, who both denied the charge, face no further action after prosecutors searched Emmanuel-Thomas's mobile phone.
"They thought they were importing gold, not cannabis," the prosecutor said.