West Indies batter Devon Thomas suspended for alleged fixing in LPL
Dubai, May 23: The International Cricket Council on Tuesday suspended West Indies batter Devon Thomas for allegedly ''contriving'' to fix games during the 2021 Lanka Premier League.
Thomas, who last played for the West Indies in August 2022, has been charged with seven counts under the ICC's anti-corruption code.
''The International Cricket Council (ICC), on behalf of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), has charged West Indies player Devon Thomas with seven counts under their anti-corruption codes and he has been provisionally suspended with immediate effect,'' said the global governing body in a statement. Besides the fixing allegation, the governing body also charged the 33-year-old for failing to report corrupt approaches in the Abu Dhabi T10 and Caribbean Premier League in 2021. Thomas has 14 days to respond to the serious charges.
The most damning charge relates to ''contriving or being party to an agreement to fix or attempt to fix, contrive or influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspects of matches in the Lanka Premier League 2021''.
The ICC, in a release, also claimed that Thomas did not cooperate with the anti-corruption officials during the investigation.
A top-order batter, who also keeps in white-ball cricket, Thomas has represented West Indies in one Test, 21 ODIs and 12 T20s. His only Test appearance came against Australia in December last year and remains an active first-class cricketer.
He has also been charged for ''failing to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official (without unnecessary delay) the receipt of any gift, payment, hospitality or benefit (a) that he knew or should have known was made in order to procure a breach of the CPL Code, or (b) could have brought the player or the game of cricket into disrepute''.
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Gujarat ATS nabs man wanted in Punjab for smuggling heroin, grenades and pistols
Ahmedabad (PTI): The Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) nabbed a man wanted in a case related to cross-border smuggling of heroin as well as grenades and pistols in Punjab, officials said on Thursday.
The ATS identified him as Rehmat Ali Sheikh, a resident of Amritsar in the northern state.
He was wanted in a case related to transportation of consignments of heroin, hand grenades, and pistols from the Punjab-Pakistan border and delivering them to other individuals in that state in January this year, the ATS said in a release.
A case was registered against him at Rajasansi police station at Amritsar district in on January 29 under sections 21 and 25 of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, as well as sections 3, 4, and 5 of Explosive Substances Act, it said.
Two accused were arrested in the case, and 42.9 kilograms of heroin, four hand grenades, one Star-mark pistol, and 46 live cartridges were seized, the release said.
However, Sheikh had absconded, going to Nepal first and then to Bihar, before reaching Gujarat where he started working at an embroidery factory, it said.
"ATS sleuths apprehended him from an embroidery factory in Rakhial in Ahmedabad. During the primary interrogation, it was revealed that the accused is part of a major narcotics as well as grenade-pistol smuggling network," it said.
The Gujarat ATS has shared information regarding his detention with Punjab police and further legal proceedings have been initiated for his handover, the release said.
