Spanish police arrest 11 in doping raids

ATHLETICS:ATHLETICS IRELAND have said they'll be watching developments following yesterday's news that Spanish police had reportedly uncovered doping agents in the home of Spanish race walker Francisco Fernandez during raids that led to 11 people being detained.

An Athletics Ireland spokesman declined to comment in any great detail on the news, except to state that they would be “continuously watching developments”, and that Irish race walker Robert Heffernan – a long-time training partner of Fernandez – was “quite distraught” with the revelations, which had caught him completely unaware.

There is absolutely nothing to suggest Heffernan was either aware of or in any way involved in the alleged doping.

According to reports from the Spanish news agency Efe, Spain’s Guardia Civil raided homes, pharmacies and clinics linked to the Peruvian doctor Walter Viru, the former Kelme cycling team doctor. As part of this sting, police also discovered EPO and growth hormones in Valencia, Barcelona, Murcia and Granada.

The Civil Guard said “medications of these types” were discovered in the home of Fernandez, who won the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Fernandez was not detained, and he issued a statement saying: “I have never worked with this doctor and I have never had anything to do with doping.”

Viru had previously worked with Eufemiano Fuentes, who was arrested in relation to cycling-related doping scandal Operation Puerto in 2006. The raids turned up banned substances in Viru’s clinic in Valencia.

Investigations are continuing and further arrests are possible.

Dubbed Operación Grial (Operation Grail), the Civil Guard yesterday issued a statement which outlined the basis for the raids, as well as the initials of the nine men and two women subsequently detained.