Following the match-fixing scandal, the Pakistan cricket team looks set for further trouble after it was reported on Monday that large quantities of bank notes were found in the London hotel rooms of a few Pakistan cricketers in a raid by the Scotland Yard detectives and they could be arrested on charges of corruption.
"Officers also found large numbers of bank notes in the rooms of unnamed players which exceeded the daily maintenance payment made to the cricketers by their employers. It is not known if these bank notes relate to the allegations," British newspaper The Independent reported on Monday.
"The police investigation, which led to officers confiscating the mobile phones of three Pakistan players including the team's captain Salman Butt in a late-night sweep on Saturday, raises the possibility of members of an international cricket team being arrested and facing prosecution in Britain before the tourists leave after the final game of their summer tour on 22 September," the reported added.
The Scotland Yard detectives on Sunday visited the Pakistan dressing room immediately after the third day's play in the fourth Test against England to question the players after the sting operation exposed 'spot-fixing' and the alleged nexus between the players and bookies.
They took statements from skipper Salman Butt, bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif, and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal for their alleged role in the match-fixing scandal and confiscated their mobile phones and passports, it has been reported.
British tabloid, The News of the World, shook the world of cricket when they reported on Sunday that London-based bookie Mazhar Majeed had paid bribes to the a few Pakistan players to bowl no-balls and wides in the series and the fourth and final Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's.
In a sting operation carried out by The News of the World, bookie Majeed was caught on tape saying that pacers Aamer and Asif had bowled three deliberate no-balls by pre-arrangement on the opening day of the fourth Test against England last Thursday. The practice is known as 'spot fixing'.
Majeed, who was arrested before being released on bail on Monday, also claimed that the result of the Sydney Test between Australia and Pakistan in January was also rigged.
