LONDON, Dec 17: Former England all-rounder Chris Lewis was remanded in custody on Wednesday after being charged with attempting to smuggle cocaine with an estimated street value of 200,000 pounds into Britain.

The 40-year-old was arrested on December 8 after border control officers at London’s Gatwick airport found four kilogrammes (nine pounds) of the illegal drug in liquid form in fruit tins in baggage that had arrived from the Caribbean island of St Lucia.Lewis was arrested with Chad Kirnon, a 26-year-old one-time English league basketball player, and they were questioned by customs officials before being charged.

The duo appeared via video-link on Wednesday from prison for an administrative hearing at a magistrates court in the southern English town of Haywards Heath.

Both men were remanded in custody until January 14. No bail application was made.

Lewis has not entered a plea to the charge of importing cocaine but Kirnon has pleaded not guilty.—AFP