Former England fast bowler held for drug smuggling

London, Dec 9 (IANS) Former England pacer Chris Lewis has been charged with drug smuggling.

Lewis, 40, was arrested by UK Border Agency (UKBA) staff at Gatwick when four kg of cocaine worth £200,000 were found during a routine search of luggage at St Lucia. The drugs were in a liquid form hidden in the tins, said an official.

Lewis will appear before Crawley magistrates' court Tuesday.

The fast bowler, who played 32 Tests and 53 one-day internationals in the 1990s, was held along with Chad Kirnon, 26, a basketball player. They were questioned by Customs officials and then charged.

'They had arrived on a flight from St Lucia. UKBA officials were carrying out checks on the baggage from that flight. During the course of that search they discovered the cocaine in fruit tins,' a spokesman for the UKBA was quoted as saying in The Times.

Lewis took 66 wickets in one-day internationals and 93 wickets in Tests.