Hot Trail in Sports Doping Probe Leads to Germany

The raids by German police were carried out on Thursday and were prompted by findings in connection with the investigation into a Spanish doctor suspected of suppling performance-enhancing drugs to top athletes including German cyclist Jan Ullrich.

Prosecutors and police in the German town of Göttingen said the premises belonging to a man identified only as Dr. Markus C. in the states of Lower Saxony and Thuringia were searched.

German doc allegedly supplied Spanish counterpart

Hans Hugo Heimgärtner, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said that a significant amount of evidence was seized and is currently being analyzed. The operation, he said, was initiated because of

recent findings by Spanish authorities who are investigating a sports doping ring allegedly run by Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.

"The German doctor is suspected of violating German laws by making drugs available for illegal purposes such as performance-enhancing in sports," Heimgärtner said. "There are indications that he provided these drugs to a doctor in Spain who stands accused of selling them to the athletes."

Dr Markus C is said to have delivered large quantities of Synacten -- a drug that raises pain endurance levels in humans. The trail to Germany, authorities say, came to light after Spanish officials in May raided offices belonging to Dr Fuentes.

There they found among other things anabolic steroids, equipment used for blood transfusions and more than 100 bags of frozen blood.

In an official probe that ensued, more than 50 professional cyclists were implicated in the doping scandal including Tour de France favourites Jan

Ullrich and Ivan Basso. They both withdrew on the eve of the race in July.

Calls for Ullrich to come clean

German Sports Federation president Thomas Bach now welcomes the crackdown on such doping practices as an essential move towards drug-free sports.

"These investigations are crucial in our campaign for clean sports," Bach said. "Quite obviously there are entire doping networks operating in the background of athletes and we must do everything to destroy these rings."

Meanwhile German anti-doping campaigners have called on Jan Ullrich to come forward and testify on his drug-taking past.

Germany’s leading expert on doping, Werner Franke said that with the International Cycling Union discussing disciplinary action against Ullrich, the star cyclist should come clean.

"I can only recommend to Jan Ullrich and all the other cyclists accused of doping to make a clean slate now," Franke said. "The Cycling Union, I’m sure will certainly respect that in their ruling."

So far however, Jan Ullrich has continued to protest his innocence and denies the doping allegations.

But the noose around his neck is getting tighter. A fax found recently in documents confiscated from Dr Fuentes, for the first time shows the German cyclist’s full name on a list of athletes who had received drugs.