Dead players 'sold' class A drugs
NEWS: Two English players who died on tour in Sri Lanka had been sold heroin according to evidence given at a magistrates’ court in Colombo.
Following a visit to Cleopatra nightclub in the country’s capital, Colombo, 25-year-old Thomas Howard and 26-year-old Thomas Baty died in Sri Lanka after complaining of breathing difficulties.
The two were on tour in the country with their Durham-based club Clems Pirates RFC last May.
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The Colombo Fort magistrate Lanka Jayaratna has asked the police to investigate more and wants them to report back on August 3rd.
The team arrived in Sri Lanka on May 9th and played a match on May 12th against Ceylonese Rugby and Football Club in Colombo and some of the squad went to a nightclub afterwards.
In the aftermath of their deaths the President of Durham City Rugby Club, which oversees the team, revealed that the pair were suffering breathing difficulties.
Local officials said two players reported breathing difficulties to hotel management at around 10am on Sunday morning after returning to the hotel in the early hours from a nightclub.
The team remained on tour to continue charity work that they had planned, in honour of the two players who lost their lives.
A statement on the club website said: “As a mark of respect to the deceased players (Thomas Howard, 25 and Tom Baty, 26) Clem’s Pirates will go ahead with their planned charity work and rugby kit donation in Galle before the end of the tour.
“The charity work and the kit donation will involve providing eight school teams with much-needed boots, gum shields and shirts. The work in Galle will continue the international charity work began by Clem’s Pirates in South Africa in 2004.”
Source: RugbyPass
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