LONDON, CMC- Former England all-rounder Chris Lewis was released from prison yesterday after serving less than half of a 13-year sentence for a 2009 conviction for cocaine smuggling. Lewis, who was born in Guyana, and co-accused, ex-basketball player Chad Kirnon, were found guilty of carrying a liquid form of the drug into Gatwick Airport on a flight from St Lucia.
Lewis said money concerns in 2008 had led to him attempting to smuggle £140,000 worth of dissolved cocaine into the UK.
“I became afraid of what the future held, and at that point the thinking went awry,” said the 47-year-old in an interview with the Professional Cricketers’ Association.
“I made choices. They were the wrong choices and I say sorry for them, I’ve had six years in jail and until recently I would still look around and think ‘wow you’re in jail’. That was not part of the plan. I never saw that coming.”
All-rounder Lewis played 32 Tests and 53 one-day internationals for England.
He played county cricket for Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Surrey before retiring with a persistent hip injury in 2000, though he rejoined Surrey in 2008 to play in the Twenty20 tournament.