Spanish court closes Operation Puerto doping probe 03/10/2008 |
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A Madrid court closed the Operation Puerto investigation into a doping ring in cycling without a single conviction Thursday after concluding no criminal offences had been committed.
The case was originally closed in March 2007 before a court ordered it to be reopened in February this year because of evidence of possible offences against public health by doctors implicated in the probe.
However, a report by Spain's toxicology institute said it was impossible to determine whether any physical damage had been inflicted on cyclists, court documents said Thursday.
In his original ruling in 2007, judge Antonio Serrano closed the case saying that despite there being proof of doping practices, there was insufficient evidence to prosecute.
The banned blood-booster erythropoietin (EPO) was found in eight of 99 bags analyzed at the time. However, doping was not punishable under Spanish law when the charges were brought in May 2006.
Spain launched Operation Puerto in 2006 after raids at addresses in Madrid and Zaragoza uncovered anabolic steroids, blood transfusion equipment and more than 200 code-named blood bags, some of which were linked to leading cyclists.
Spanish police listed more than 50 riders implicated in the affair, including former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich, Tour of Spain winner Roberto Heras and Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso.
(Source: Reuters)
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