Growth hormones, EPO, anabolic steroids, amphetamines…not to mention syringes and vials. The searches carried out on April 19 by the gendarmes in the Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne and Gironde confirmed the suspicions about the existence of a “significant” traffic of doping products in the middle of amateur cycling in the South-West.
The investigation by the gendarmes of the Tarbes company lasted more than a year. It ended with a dragnet resulting in five arrests. Several of them were indicted and one was even placed in pre-trial detention, indicates the Hautes-Pyrénées gendarmerie on its Facebook page.
Some 10,500 euros in cash were seized from the homes of the suspects, but the investigation also showed that they were using cryptocurrency.