Mohammad Asif returns to Pakistan

Asif has taken more than 50 Test wickets

Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Asif has returned home after authorities in Dubai decided not to prosecute him for alleged drug offences.

Asif was detained at Dubai airport on suspicion of carrying illegal drugs as he travelled back to Pakistan from India on 1 June.

Reports said Dubai's public prosecutor decided the case was not significant enough to pursue.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a zero-tolerance policy concerning drugs.

Asif arrived in Karachi early on Friday and boarded a flight for Lahore.

The Pakistan Cricket Board earlier issued a statement welcoming the decision.

"We appreciate the professional manner in which this whole issue was dealt with by the Dubai Police, Prosecution Department and the UAE Authorities," it read.

"PCB intends to conduct an immediate inquiry into this matter, as per its policies and procedures, once the official records are received from the UAE authorities."

'Faster process'

Dubai's public prosecutor, Mohammad al-Nuaimi, told the Gulf News Asif had been caught "red-handed" with 0.24 grams of opium.

But he added: "In certain cases and for a faster litigation process the public prosecution drops a case due to insignificance and deports the suspect."

The Pakistan Cricket Board statement said: "The drug tests conducted on Mohammad Asif during the investigations in Dubai were clear and negative for any contraband substance."

Asif, 25, is considered one of the best fast bowlers in Pakistan. He has taken 51 wickets in 11 Test matches and 36 wickets in 31 one-day international matches.

But it is not the first time off-the-field problems have affected his career.

In November 2006, both he and fellow fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar were banned after testing positive for the performance-enhancing steroid nandrolone.

But a Pakistan Cricket Board tribunal later lifted the suspensions after ruling that neither player had knowingly taken the substance.

The PCB verdict was later challenged by the World Anti-Doping Authority (Wada), only for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is based in Lausanne, Switzerland to rule that it had no jurisdiction to reverse the decision.

Wada could now bring pressure to bear on the International Cricket Council, cricket's world governing body, to take action against Asif because of the latest case.

The ICC is a signatory to Wada's anti-doping code.

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