Bob Woolmer died on the 18th March 2007.

His death was unexpected and he was alone. The circumstances leading to his death was unexplained. The Law calls for a coroner’s investigation, as soon as possible to ascertain the cause of death.

The first pathologist in Jamaica had given a report suggesting unlawful death. Normal practice in every country is to proceed to a coroner’s court with the report. It is for the Coroner to decide based on the PM findings and the police reports, if the cause of death can be ascertained. And if it was from natural causes or unlawful death.

But strangely enough, the Jamaican Constabulary asked for three independent verdicts from pathologists outside the country. It is hard to believe that the Jamaican Police does that for every suspicious death.

Before a Coroner’s court has been convened, simply based on these “expert” pathology reports, the Constabulary announced it as a death from natural causes and closed investigation. By my understanding, the investigation cannot be closed till the Coroner decides. It is the 30th September, we still haven’t had a coroner’s verdict; it is said to be booked for October 16.

The Jamaican Gleaner on 26th September reports:

Smith to speak on Woolmer findings:
Minister of National Security Derrick Smith is expected to make a statement regarding the findings of Justice Ian Forte’s administrative review of the investigation into the death of Pakistan cricket coach, Bob Woolmer.

Justice Forte, a former High Court judge, headed a commission that was mandated by former National Security Minister Dr. Peter Phillips to review the Woolmer case and give a report as to what went wrong during the police investigation. Justice Forte submitted the report to the ministry exactly three weeks after initially missing the July 31 deadline.

Permanent Secretary in the National Security Ministry, Gilbert Scott, said the minister had not yet reviewed the report. “He (Mr. Smith) will eventually review the report, it is on a list of priorities, but not at the top of the list,” Mr. Scott said. The permanent secretary said the minister might not be able to review Justice Forte’s report for some weeks.

At the same time, a coroner’s inquest into the death of Woolmer is still set for October 16 at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston. Coroner Patrick Murphy will preside at the inquest, which is being held to determine the conditions under which Mr. Woolmer died on March 18. The Crown is expected to call more than 50 people to testify.

If it is indeed a death due of natural causes, how does it become a matter of National Security!! and why is the Minister for National Security needed to make a statement?

The same newspaper on the April 1, was discussing match fixing.

Dark side of the coin

GAMBLING in sport is a multibillion-dollar industry, according to an intelligence source of international experience, who spoke recently to The Sunday Gleaner. In cricket, the dark side to gambling is often not as straight forward as the flip of a coin.

Bookmakers often seek to influence the game by speaking to and paying players and even officials. Disgraced former South African captain Hansie Cronje confessed in 2000 that there are great incentives for influencing the result of a game. He was banned for life after his deeds came to light.

Insiders say large amounts of betting money are circulated in cricket circles. While gambling in some parts of the world is legal and normally regulated, it is illegal in Pakistan and India. Despite this, tens of millions of dollars change hands on match days in organised betting activities controlled by persons labelled as mafia.

In South Asia, for example, ball-by-ball odds are available on the game. With this pundits are able to place bets on things like who will win the toss, who will face the first ball, who will bat at which number, individual scores, overall scores and even extras.

Funding terrorism

The Hindustan Times estimates that the amount bet on cricket in India annually is more than the country’s defence budget, some 10.6 billion. The Sunday Gleaner understands that when India played Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, US$1 billion was gambled on a single match.

This, experts say, explains why illegal match fixing in cricket is so dangerous, especially with al-Qaeda, the Osama bin-Laden-led terrorism group turning to this underground industry for funds.

One international intelligence expert argues that al-Qaeda, in the post 9/11 era, with many of its funding sources cut off, places huge bets on cricket matches, which they have a hand in fixing. “It is done through a big betting chain run out of Karachi in Pakistan,” the expert says. “Betting on rigged Test matches and rigged One Day International matches is a big source of funds.”

Mafia-controlled

Indian police have said that gambling is controlled by the underground Mafia, with the notorious Dawood Ibrahim ranking highest on the list. They say that while the tendency to bribe people to fix an entire game has disappeared because of close monitoring by the ICC , ‘bookies’ are now involved in what is now called micro-fixing. People bet on even the most remote things such as who will bowl the 15th over.

Dawood Ibrahim, incidentally, is alleged to have led a huge illegal empire, in which he acquired money and political clout. After the Bombay Blasts in 1993, which Ibrahim organized and financed, he became India’s most wanted man. In 2003, the United States Government declared Dawood Ibrahim a “Global Terrorist” and pursued the matter before the United Nations in an attempt to freeze his assets around the world and crack down on his operations after significant diplomatic lobbying by the government of India..

The Bush Administration, under request from the Indian Government, has imposed sanctions on Ibrahim. Although Pakistan denies any knowledge of his existence, Indian intelligence agencies, such as Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), believe that Dawood currently resides in Karachi. Ibrahim is also alleged to have close links with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency.

Media and Communications manager for the International Cricket Council (ICC), Brian Murgatroyd tells The Sunday Gleaner that “one of the things the ICC is trying to tackle is the potential for micro-fixing”.

During the West Indies tour of India, middle-order batsman Marlon Samuels was accused of being involved in such a scheme. Indian police said he had provided information to a bookmaker and they produced transcripts of the telephone conversation which they say is proof. Samuels has denied knowing he was talking to a bookie but both Indian police and the ICC has pledge to investigate the case.

Several persons have been banned from the sport because of their involvement in match-fixing. Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin, Test player Ajay Sharma, along with Cronje, are included in this list.

The recent death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer here has triggered suggestions of match-fixing. In fact, the ICC has sent Jeff Rees from their Anti-Corruption Unit to do investigations of their own, but they stayed clear of suggesting that Mr. Woolmer knew about match-fixing.

Not only have players been implicated in match-fixing scandals but a well-placed Sunday Gleaner source says at least three umpires on the ICC elite panels are being investigated by Lord Condon’s ICC Anti-Corruption Unit. The intelligence source says these investigations were done because it was found that some umpires have offshore banking accounts thought to be set up by match-fixers.

The ICC says that as a matter of policy they do not comment on whether an investigation is being or has been done.

According to the intelligence expert, in matches where umpires are crooked, at least one captain is aware of the match fixing scheme, so he normally brings his best bowler from the end where the umpire believed to be crooked is standing. The intelligence agent suggests that a series of matches within the last three years have prompted the Lord Condon’s team to investigate, and Mr. Woolmer was aware of these investigations.

Against this backdrop, the informed intelligence source suggests Mr.Woolmer’s death came become of two reasons: firstly, because Pakistan dropped out of the World Cup causing persons to lose plenty of money; and secondly, because there was a feeling that he was going to talk what he knew about match-fixing.

Cronje had spoken about match-fixing before and many believe that was the reason he was killed. When he faced a commission investigating the match-fixing allegations against him, Cronje received immunity from prosecution after he agreed to “full and frank” disclosure of his involvement in corruption. He revealed that he took money and gifts from bookmakers to fix matches but added that he was terribly sorry. “I can’t tell you the shame this whole affair has caused me,” he said. “The great passion I have for my country and my team-mates and my unfortunate love of money,” he said, two years before perishing in a strange aircraft crash in 2004.

An intense pressure must have been exerted on the Jamaican Constabulary to cover this up. I am in no doubt, this is a cover up, and the pressure can only come from very high up. Is it just a paranoid imagination, or would you agree there maybe a link here.

Al-Qaeda: allowed safe haven in Pakistan
Mr Bin Laden >>> Sympathisers in Pakistan intellegence (ISI)
Pakistan intellegence (ISI) >>> General Musharraff
General Musharraff IS THE Patron-in-chief of Pakistan Cricket Board
Patron-in-chief of Pakistan Board >>> Pakistan cricket management
Dawood Ibrahim: allowed a safe haven in Pakistan
Dawood Ibrahim >>> Bookies and betting syndicates
Pakistan cricket management >>>Pakistan cricket player(s)
Pakistan cricket player(s) > <Bob Woolmer

In the world of terror, and in the world of “allies in fight against terror”, Mr Bob Woolmer was unimportant; his death would also be of no significance.

When he boarded the flight to the Caribbeans, was Woolmar’s a marked man?
Did he fly out to meet with fate that had already been decided?
I do not think we will ever know.