Doping syringe
Seven British citizens were among 26 people arrested in Spain as part of a police investigation into a large organised doping ring, it was announced on Monday.
The director of a cycling team containing 'former world and european champions' was also arrested as part of the investigation.
During raids in Madrid, Andalusia and elsewhere in Spain, police recovered 700,000 doses of banned performance-enhancing substances including human growth hormone (HGH) and erythropoietin (EPO).
An extensive laboratory was discovered where human growth hormone and drugs to treat erectile dysfunction were being processed for sale via the internet.
In an official statement, Spanish police described the ring as the "largest international organisation acting in Spain for the illegal trafficking of drugs, growth hormone and doping substances".
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Angharad
May 17 12:57
Let's hope they throw the book at these scumbags, who give cycling and other sports a bad name. I hope these people are named and shamed and barred from having anything to do with sport ever again. These drugs are dangerous as well as illegal - I hope they jail them if convicted.
Adam Howard
May 17 13:21
Great to see that cycling has cleaned up it's act in the wake of Puerto. How long will the Spanish be allowed to get away with this? Disgusting.
George
May 17 14:32
What I want to know is who these seven Brits are?! And are they cyclists or are they different sportsman.
Rich Sawyer
May 17 14:44
There is an argument that this does show that cycling is cleaning up it's act... there will always be cheats, so big raids like this brings them closer to justice. I think we need to be careful about labelling the Spanish as the guilty party, the article does mention 7 Brits. Lets hope we get some good high profile justice (backed by the UCI!) out of this, maybe we can then focus on the cycling when July comes around.
Ken Evans
May 17 16:22
"....police recovered 700,000 doses of banned performance-enhancing substances...." That's a hell-of-a-lot of customers !!!,!!!
Matt
May 17 17:20
They might not be atheletes at all. They could be opportunistic drug dealers who think they can make a decent living off selling these types of drugs, rather than Cannabis and Cocaine (for example) and are less likely to get caught because they are not cracked down on as heavily.
Dick Turpin
May 17 19:54
@ Rich Sawyer: "Lets hope we get some good high profile justice (backed by the UCI!) out of this" If I was a purveyor of good high profile justice, the last thing I'd want is the UCI's backing. Would totally ruin my credibility...