Customs officers drill holes in cricket bats sent from Pakistan... to check for explosives

A cricketer who ordered eight bats to be shipped in from Pakistan was shocked to discover custom officers had drilled holes in them to check for drugs and explosives.

Stunned Dilawar Hussain opened the package containing his £475 batting gear to find it all ruined.



Each cricket bat and two pairs of pads had two drill holes in them - meaning they are weaker and could splinter or break easily. Customs officials told the keen amateur they had been looking for bombs and drugs.

Hit for six: Dilawar Hussain with the cricket bats ruined as officials hunted for explosives

The 28-year-old takeaway owner said: 'It is totally unbelievable. What were these people thinking.



'How could I possibly hide anything in the crickets bats. You would have hope these people would have used some common sense.'

He paid £475 for the equipment on a recent club tour to Pakistan and has made similar orders in the past but never had any problems.



The damaged bat

He added: 'The bats are for members of the teams I captain in local leagues. The lads are more perplexed than I am as they were looking forward to using the bats and pads during the new season.

'I bought the cricket bats in Lahore and each one cost me 8,000 rupees ((£67). I have just wasted my money.



'I checked every one and everything seemed to be okay. I had them packed and before I left I got DHL Pakistan to ship them over.



'The bats and pads arrived and I was shocked to find they had holes drilled into the front of them.'



Dilawar, from Blackburn, Lancs, continued: 'Whoever did this must have known that this basically makes the cricket bat obsolete.



'We can't use the bats because they will splinter after a few games. What kind of people would do this?'



Dilawar, who plays for Gujrat Cricket Club and Nile cricket clubs, phoned customs officials to complain and was told that the holes had been made as part of security checks for drugs and bombs.



He added: 'I rang Pakistan and they said UK authorities had made the holes. When I rang the UK office they said Pakistan had done it.



'No-one wants to take responsibility and no-one is owning up to the gaffe.'

Cricket pads he purchased from Pakistan also had holes drilled through them

A spokesman for DHL International said they would not disclose information on individual cases.



A spokesman for UK Customs and Excise said: 'If it was UK Customs Mr Hussain should have received paperwork with his consignment giving contact details for any Customs checks on his parcels.



'The paperwork normally gives contact details for any query or complaint.'

