Reuters

London, Dec 10: Former England cricketer Chris Lewis will appear in court on drug smuggling charges on Tuesday after around four kilos (9 lbs) of cocaine was seized at London's Gatwick Airport, the Home Office said.

Lewis, 40, an all-rounder who played 32 test matches and 53 one-day internationals for England in the 1990s, was arrested on Monday after arriving on a flight from the Caribbean, the UK Border Agency, a division of the Home Office, said.

The drugs, with an estimated street value of 200,000 pounds (around $300,000), were found dissolved in tins of fruit.

"UK Border Agency officers working at Gatwick Airport discovered the Class A drugs whilst searching baggage that had arrived on a flight from St. Lucia in the Caribbean," the Home Office said in a statement.

Lewis was arrested along with Chad Kirnon, 26, a basketball player from London.

Born in Guyana, Lewis picked up 93 wickets in his test career and 66 wickets in ODIs and also played county cricket for Nottinghamshire, Surrey and Leicestershire.

He ended his professional career in 2000 and took up coaching. An attempt to make a Twenty20 come back earlier this year was unsuccessful.