Three individuals have been arrested in Guyana, Barbados and Trinidad over suspicious behaviour at Limacol Caribbean Premier League games over the course of the tournament so far, the Trinidad Express reported yesterday.
The article made it clear that the CPL confirmed that the arrests were not related to match-fixing and that no CPL representatives or players were involved.
Based on what this newspaper was told the arrests may have had to do with selling tickets.
A top CPL security official told Stabroek News yesterday that police arrested persons in Guyana for selling tickets to persons for matches which had already been played. It was explained that for instance tickets for the games played on July 17 and 19 were being sold for the game on July 20. It would appear that these persons were not checking the date on their tickets when they made the purchase. The official said it was in order to avoid situations such as these that persons were being advised to purchase their tickets from the CPL headquarters in Middle Street.
Stabroek News was unable to ascertain what became of those persons who were arrested here in Guyana.
According to the Express the announcement of the arrests was made in a CPL media statement released on Friday. The statement stated that the arrests came as a result of ongoing monitoring by representatives of the CPL and the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Though the release stated that the arrests were made in Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad, the persons arrested are not from Caribbean territories.
In its release, the CPL also stated its “commitment to running a clean tournament and operating within the set ICC rules and regulations.”
“In line with this commitment, CPL has ensured that its staff are well able to identify any instance of corrupt or illegal behaviour by providing extensive training to them on what to be aware of,” the release added.
CPL CEO Damien O’Donohoe said the CPL will not tolerate any illegal activities.
He said: “We take our responsibility to ensuring that we protect and promote the integrity of the tournament and the game itself very seriously.”
“Put simply, we have a zero tolerance policy towards any forms of corruption or illegal activity and will deal with it quickly and effectively through the appropriate channels. We are working closely with all our partners —the ICC, the police and ground security in each of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League venues —and would like to thank them for their efforts on our behalf,” O’Donohoe added.
