(HMRC) Former England cricketer jailed for drug smuggling

Former England Test cricketer Christopher Lewis was jailed today for 13 years after being convicted of smuggling cocaine into the UK. Accomplice Chad Kirnon, a London basketball player, was jailed for 13 years. Between them, the two men hid over three kilos of cocaine in tins of fruit juice carried in their baggage. The drugs had an estimated street value of £140,000.

Investigators from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) interviewed Lewis (41) and Kirnon (27) after UK Border Agency (UKBA) officers detected the drugs on 8 December 2008. The two men had arrived at Gatwick Airport on a flight from St Lucia and following the discovery they were arrested and subsequently charged.

The trial, which was prosecuted by the Revenue & Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO), commenced at Croydon Crown Court on 11 May 2009.

Peter Avery, Assistant Director, HMRC Criminal Investigations said:
"Sportsmen and women who are regularly in the public eye have a responsibility to act as role models and ambassadors for their respective sports. It is therefore even more disappointing when such role models get involved in the criminality of attempting to smuggle Class A drugs into the UK. HMRC investigators do not differentiate in their determination to bring anyone involved in such activity to justice, whether they are famous or not.

Drugs devastate lives and communities and we are determined to prevent them reaching UK streets.

Anyone with information relating to smuggled goods or other illegal activities should contact HMRC's 24 hour hotline on 080...."

In passing sentence, His Honour Judge Nicholas Ainley said:
"The majority of smugglers usually have the courage or dignity to plead guilty and get credit for that. You have forfeited the right to do that. Kirnon you made it as a basketball player and Lewis you have been at the top of your profession. Your motivation was greed, you decided the risks were worth it and the rewards substantial. This was major organised crime."