Former England Cricketer Chris Lewis Guilty of Smuggling Cocaine Into Uk

Former England cricketer Chris Lewis was today found guilty of smuggling cocaine into Britain in his cricket bag.

Lewis, 41, carried the drugs worth more than £140,000 in liquid form in tins of fruit and vegetable juice from St Lucia. But his plans went awry when he was stopped by Customs officers at Gatwick Airport in December last year.

A jury at Croydon crown court is continuing to deliberate on his co-accused Chad Kirnon, 27.

Croydon crown court heard that the pair, who claimed to be travelling alone, were picked up independently at the airport.

Tom Wilkins, prosecuting, said Lewis was stopped shortly after 5am on 8 December. "When the customs officer pulled him over, Mr Lewis stated that he was traveling alone and had been in St Lucia visiting friends and family," he said.

But when Lewis's luggage was inspected the Puma cricket bag was found to be labeled with Kirnon's name, Wilkins told the court.

Jurors heard that the cocaine, which was found dissolved in the liquid contents of five tins, would at 100% purity, weigh 3.37kg. This would give it a street value of more than £140,000.

Customs officers also found traces of cannabis residue in Lewis's luggage.

These were discovered on a silver grinder inside the side pocket of a Samsonite suit carrier and on Rizla cigarette papers tucked into a paperback book, the court heard.

When questioned at Gatwick, the former cricketer, who was also carrying a Prada "man bag", said he had packed the luggage himself and was not carrying anything for anyone else.

When Kirnon was stopped and questioned soon after, a quick test performed at the airport found he was also carrying cocaine, Wilkins said.

But when questioned, he said he was simply bringing three tins of fruit juice back for his mother which he had bought from a shop in St Lucia.

Kirnon said that before traveling, he had taken advantage of a facility which enabled him to check in luggage at a local hotel rather than at the airport.

And he said Lewis had asked him to check in some bags, which he had done without question.