Martina Hingis is unlikely to face a criminal prosecution for possessing cocaine despite testing positive for the drug at this year’s Wimbledon, Scotland Yard said last night. The Metropolitan Police said it had not received a complaint that Hingis had committed any criminal offence within its jurisdiction, even though she had tested positive for the Class A drug.

A spokeswoman said: “A lot of sport-speople take drugs tests and some do fail them and it is usually not a police matter.

“We usually leave it to the governing body to investigate the matter and to bring whatever punishment is necessary under its rules. I cannot think of any sportsman ever being prosecuted simply for failing a drugs test. If we receive a complaint about a criminal offence, then we could investigate the matter but it would be for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to decide if it would be in the public interest to prosecute.” The maximum sentence for possessing a Class A drug is seven years in prison or an unlimited fine. However, a first-time offender would almost certainly receive a small fine.

A police source said last night that it would be difficult to bring a case against Hingis. Traces of cocaine can remain in urine for many weeks. “The first problem is we don’t even know where she is alleged to have taken this drug,” he said. “It might not even be in the UK, in which case it would not be within our jurisdiction anyway.”

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Background

• Hingis makes exit under cloud of suspicion

• The smile that sounded alarm bells

• Criminal prosecution unlikely says Scotland Yard

• Martina Hingis's statement in full

Background

• What the Swiss papers say about Hingis

• The smile that sounded alarm bells

• Martina Hingis factfile

Multimedia

• Martina Hingis - a career in pictures

Related Links

• Martina Hingis's statement in full

The CPS ruled last year that Kate Moss, the model, would not face charges despite an “absolutely clear indication” on video that she took and supplied drugs. After police investigations costing £39,000, the CPS decided not to act because there was no way of proving whether the drug was cocaine, Ecstasy or an amphetamine. A police source said: “If we could not get a prosecution out of the Kate Moss allegations, then I cannot see the CPS bringing a case against Martina Hingis.”