Two held in Lahore over match-fixing issue

LAHORE: Police have arrested two persons in connection with their alleged involvement in match-fixing and money laundering.

The arrested men are reported to have links with the Dubai-based Mendis Group.

Race Course Police raided a match-fixing point and arrested two persons, Hasan and Amir, besides seizing more than 100 mobile phones, computers and cash.

According to reports, the arrested men have contacts with bookies in England, South Africa and Dubai.

British police said they had arrested a man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers following newspaper allegations of match-fixing in the ongoing cricket Test between England and Pakistan.

The News of the World alleged that some members of the Pakistan team were involved in a scam in the fourth and final Test at Lord's.

"Following information received from the News of the World, we have arrested a 35-year old man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers," a spokesman for London's Metropolitan Police told a foreign news agency.

News of the World, Britain's biggest-selling newspaper, alleged that two Pakistan bowlers delivered three blatant no-balls.

The weekly tabloid said it gave 150,000 pounds to a middle man who correctly told them in advance precisely when the deliveries would be bowled.

The newspaper published images and dialogue from the encounter and a picture of what it said was one of the promised no-balls on Friday.

It also ran a photograph of Pakistan captain Salman Butt standing with the man they claimed was the middleman, and one of their reporters