Cricket: Former England cricketer Chris Lewis has been charged with attempted drug smuggling after four kilos of cocaine worth approximately £200,000 (€230,000) was seized at Gatwick Airport.
The drugs were found hidden in baggage which arrived on a flight from St Lucia in the Caribbean. They were in a liquid form hidden in fruit tins, according to the UK Border Agency (UKBA).
UKBA said Lewis, of Bruce Road, Brent, and basketball player Chad Kirnon, of Carnegie Street, Islington, arrived together on a flight before being questioned by Customs officials and later charged.
"They had arrived on a flight from St Lucia. UKBA officials were carrying out checks on the baggage from that flight," said the UKBA spokesperson.
"During the course of that search they discovered the cocaine in fruit tins."
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) spokesman Bob Gaiger said: "This was an excellent detection by UK Border Agency officers.
"HMRC, together with UKBA, play a vital role in the fight to prevent illegal drugs from entering the UK and in protecting our communities from the violence and corruption that always accompany this hideous trade."
Lewis, who was born in Guyana, claimed 93 wickets during his England Test career and finished with a Test batting average of 23.
He retired from county cricket in 2000 because of a persistent hip injury after spells with Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Surrey.
Earlier this year he joined Surrey to play in 20-overs matches but with little success.
He was labelled "The Prat without a Hat" by a tabloid newspaper after sunstroke forced him off the field during an England tour of the West Indies in 1994. It emerged that he had shaved his head before the match and not put any sun cream on.