A former cricketer arrested along with bookies in Lahore, Pakistan
In a latest development regarding Pakistan’s crack down on match-fixing in the country, the law enforcement agencies raided a betting den in Ashrafi plaza, Lahore. The police is believed to have arrested a former Pakistan cricketer along with five bookies.
According to the information received from the police, the cricketer has been identified as Akram Raza, who played 9 Tests and 49 One Day Internationals for Pakistan during 1989-1995.
Sources have revealed that the raid was carried out on a tip-off, the Police decided to take action without any delay.
According to Initial investigation reports, the culprits were busy betting on an ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) match. In the raid, the Police confiscated cell phones, money and contact numbers of Indian bookies. The evidence signals towards a larger
network of match-fixers involved in the crime.
However, it is still not clear if the arrested individuals were also involved in betting on the ongoing first Test match between Pakistan and the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 in the Caribbean.
After the involvement of three http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 players in spot-fixing last year, the PCB came under heavy criticism by the world community for not doing enough to stamp out corruption in the sport.
The players Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were caught in a sting operation carried out by England’s tabloid, “News of the World”, which provided video footage showing the players having contacts with a bookie called http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mazhar-c75448 Majeed.
The players were banned from the sport for a minimum of five years after charges were proved in an International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Anti-Corruption Tribunal hearing.
The PCB has introduced a new code of conduct with strict punishment for the players having any links with potential match/spot-fixers.
Recently, Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies made a major breakthrough by arresting bookies from the city of Faisalabad. They had been making threatening calls to Pakistan’s runaway keeper, Zulqarnain Haider, in order to prevent him from taking any names
in public.
The recent developments are a testament to Pakistan’s resolve towards rooting out all form of corruption related to cricket.
Tags: