UK Anti-Doping and Cambridgeshire Police join forces in steroid seizure
UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) officials formed part of a team including Cambridgeshire Police Community Impact Team, who seized in excess of £30,000 worth of steroids during a co-ordinated raid near Peterborough last month.
The seizure, instigated following intelligence received by UKAD, was the result of seven months of work between UKAD’s Intelligence and Investigations team, the National Crime Agency, East Region Special Operations Unit, UK Border Force and Cambridgeshire Police.
Along with the steroids, officials also recovered large quantities of cash and hand-written order forms at both a residential address and an associated warehouse, with a number of the names on the order forms now being investigated by UKAD.
UKAD’s Director of Operations, Pat Myhill, said: “The operation was a success for both UKAD and Cambridgeshire Police, and the result of excellent co-operation between a number of organisations.
“It was no accident that several names linked with purchasing the steroids from this particular dealer are involved in sport, with some already known to UKAD. Information provided by National Governing Bodies of sport (NGBs), athletes, coaches and the general public is of utmost importance to our operations and we would always encourage individuals to come forward if they have any concerns related to doping in sport.”
Nearly half of all Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) published by UKAD since the start of 2016 have come about as a result of intelligence being developed by the organisation. Since January 2016, UKAD has published details of 72 ADRVs, of which 30 (42%) were intelligence-led. This intelligence is used to direct UKAD’s testing resources to where they will be most effective and also to investigate allegations where testing is not appropriate or required.
Pat Myhill added: “It is impossible to test every athlete in every sport, so we operate a system based on intelligence and risk. UKAD is always looking for new and innovative methods for combating doping in sport, particularly through education and prevention, but testing will always be crucial to our work. With nearly half of successful ADRVs originating from an intelligence source, these figures show this is a successful approach.
“In addition to supporting us to be more targeted with testing, intelligence we receive also supports ADRV prosecutions that don’t come from testing. There are 10 different anti-doping rules which can lead to a prosecution, including, for example, ‘Possession of a Prohibited Substance’. These help us target, and remove from sport, coaches or other support personnel who are involved in doping.
“We understand that coming to us with information could be daunting, and we thank those who have done so. We encourage anyone with any suspicions or evidence about doping in sport, no matter how small, to come forward, and we assure them that information is handled by experts and can be given to us confidentially. The contribution to clean sport that these people make should not be underestimated.”
If you have suspicions of doping by an athlete, or a coach, manager or supplier who may be encouraging or enabling doping, please get in touch:
- UKAD Intelligence and Investigations team
- Call 020 7842 3443
- Email protectyoursport@reportdoping.com
- WhatsApp +44 (0)7587 634711
- Report Doping in Sport hotline run by CrimeStoppers
- 08000 32 23 32
- Secure online form here.