A Madrid court has declared police evidence gathered in the Operation Greyhound anti-doping probe of Spain as invalid, which means that the outstanding charges against the accused are to be shelved.

Phone recordings and materials collected in raids, like bags of blood, transfusion equipment, and anabolic steroids could not be used, according to the ruling.

From Timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

Operation Greyhound hit the headlines in December 2010 when a series of raids by Spanish police across the country saw sports doctors, pharmacists, trainers, coaches, agents and athletes taken in for questioning.

Around 14 people were suspected of involvement in the trafficking of drugs and crimes against public health.

Spain’s former world steeplechase champion Marta Dominguez was the highest profile person implicated but she was cleared of three charges last year.

“The police sought judicial authorisation to record phone conversations (of suspects) and the judge agreed without the existence of a basic and consistent investigation,” the ruling said.

Tags:  Anabolic steroids, doping, Marta Dominguez, Operation Greyhound

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A Pittsfield man is scheduled to be sentenced later this month after he pleaded culpable to 18 drug- and gun-related charges.

The Berkshire County Drug Task Force raided Cedar Street home of Sean M. Begley last July and discovered 205 bags of heroin, 53 vials of anabolic steroids, a small amount of cocaine, and three unlicensed handguns, along with ammunition.

From Berkshireeagle.com:

Begley was cooperative with police during the raid, according to Assistant Berkshire District Attorney Richard M. Locke. Begley told police he was addicted to heroin and was selling the drugs to pay for his habit.

He pleaded guilty to possession of heroin with intent to distribute, three counts each of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, improper storage of a firearm, illegal ownership of a firearm, six counts of possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card, possession of cocaine (second offense), and possession of anabolic steroids.

Judge John A. Agostini said Begley would likely be ordered to serve a three- to four-year state prison sentence followed by five years of probation.

Tags:  Anabolic steroids, Steroids

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A dealer of steroids who was sentenced to prison has got relief from a federal judge in Mobile.

In January, Ashley Dewayne Rivers was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge William Steele to five months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids but has now reduced his term to probation.

From Blog.al.com:

The Monroe County doctor, who pleaded guilty in the case, received a probation sentence last month. Vann’s filing offers no details about Rivers’ cooperation. It asks that Steele reduce the defendant’s sentence to five years’ probation.

The motion for a reduced sentence came just hours after Steele had denied a request by defense attorney James Robinson to change the sentence to probation. Steele wrote in his order that he lacked jurisdiction to change the punishment. That had to come from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In his letter to Steele, Robinson asked that his client be allowed to serve his sentence on probation so that he could work and help support his wife, their four children and his handicapped brother.

The judge however agreed to a request by the U.S. Attorney’s Office to change the sentence to probation of five years.

Tags:  Anabolic steroids, Steroids

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Jose Canseco, former major league star, has been suspended from the Mexican League after allegedly refusing to undergo a doping test.

Refusing to take a doping test is treated the same as testing positive in the league, said Mexican League president Plinio Escalante.

From Espn.go.com:

Quintana Roo Tigers team president Cuauhtemoc Rodriguez says doping-control doctors advised Canseco against taking the test because he was using a medicine to produce testosterone.

He says Canseco already had informed the team he was using the medicine because his body doesn’t produce the substance naturally.

Canseco told ESPNDeportes he has a prescription for the testosterone treatment and “can’t live without it.”

“How can I test positive when I never took any test don’t believe everything the media tells you. The truth always comes out I am not using any illegal substance,” Canseco tweeted. “Don’t be so quick to judge till you here the truth that’s a sure sign of ignorance hatred and jealousy.”

Tags:  Doping test, Jose Canseco, testosterone, testosterone treatment

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Daniel Carvalho, the Palmeiras attacker and Brazilian soccer star, has rolled away from his previous comments that he used anabolic steroids during his stint at CSKA Moscow.

The Brazilian said previously that the European team had given him steroids so that he could obtain some body weight.

From Goal.com:

“I would first like to make it clear that I was not forced to take anything when I was at CSKA,” Carvalho told Correio do Povo.

“I was taking the same food supplements as was every other player, no-one was forced to do anything.

“With regards to the shots, when I knew that the substance was going straight to the heart, I stopped taking them.

“I do not know if there were anabolic steroids in them. I do not have the medical knowledge to say that. If there were, this happened 10 years ago and it is in the past.

“If there were not, then I apologize to the Russians for my comments.”

Tags:  Anabolic steroids, CSKA Moscow, Daniel Carvalho, Steroids, supplements

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Two St. Charles Nation men have pleaded guilty for importing HGH and anabolic steroids from suppliers in China and promoting them to muscle builders in regional gymnasiums, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Keith Ashabranner, 32, of O’Fallon, Mo., pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to possess and distribute human growth hormone drugs.

From Stltoday.com:

In their pleas, both bodybuilders admitted buying steroids and human growth hormone from China. The men used some of the drugs and sold the rest to other bodybuilders.

The Chinese drugs were shipped here with false customs declarations that claimed they were other, inexpensive goods.

Ashabranner admitted buying roughly $32,000 worth of drugs and making more than $30,000 from the sale of them. Loomans spent roughly $10,000 and made the same amount from their sale.

Loomans may undergo probation to six several weeks in jail under government sentencing recommendations and Ashabranner may face six to 12 several weeks when sentenced May 4.

Tags:  Anabolic steroids, buying steroids, HGH, human growth hormone

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A Fort Bragg soldier and his wife have been arrested after a search of their home turned up anabolic steroids, according to Cumberland County authorities.

Christopher Dwight Foust, 39, and Jennifer Ann Foust, 33, both of 870 Fredonia Drive in Fayetteville, were charged by authorities with possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver a Schedule III drug.

From Fayobserver.com:

Christopher Dwight Foust, 39, and 33-year-old Jennifer Ann Foust are charged with possessing a controlled substance with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver and maintaining a drug house, according to a release from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.

They live on the 800 block of Fredonia Drive, the release said.

Narcotics officers and the department’s Special Response Team obtained a warrant to search the couple’s home, the release said.

Officers found anabolic steroids, syringes and a manual detailing how to produce, prepare and process the illegal drugs, the release said.

Christopher Foust was remanded to the custody of the military under a $5,000 unsecured bond.

Tags:  Anabolic steroids, Schedule III drug

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Alberto Contador returned to Europe on 31 January 2012 with a second place overall, two mountain-top stage wins, and the King of the Mountains title in the recently completed Tour of San Luis stage race in Argentina.

However, all his success stories may not be pleasing with the fast-looming verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over his clenbuterol case that could see him face up to a two-year ban from the sport.

From Cyclingweekly.co.uk:

A verdict from CAS was expected during the week commencing January 30, but CAS issued a statement on Monday saying that the verdict will be delivered on February 6.

The final stage of San Luis was won by Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) in a sprint. It was the Belgian’s first victory since Ghent-Wevelgem last spring. The overall victory went to Boonen’s team-mate Levi Leipheimer.

Contador, meanwhile, is due to return to Madrid very early on Tuesday morning after travelling for almost two days on the trot, for a verdict for his positive test for clenbuterol that could see him stripped of his most recent Tour de France title, in 2010.

The Spaniard is still claiming that the minute traces of clenbuterol found in his body in July 2010 were due to a contaminated beef steak.

Tags:  Alberto Contador, clenbuterol, Tom Boonen, Tour de France, Tour of San Luis

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Lance Armstrong, the cyclist who beat cancer and won the Tour de France seven straight times, has finally been relieved of all drug charges after a US attorney in Los Angeles decided not to pursue charges against him.

Throughout his unprecedented run, the career of Armstrong has been shadowed by doping allegations.

From Thescore.ie:

After all the time and effort that has gone into such cases, some are wondering whether the government should continue the pursuit of athletes who are suspected of cheating with performance-enhancing drugs.

“This is an example where prosecutors are out scouring the countryside to bring charges against a high-profile athlete,” said defense attorney Mark Werksman, a former federal prosecutor. “It’s disturbing that they contort and stretch to find a crime. It’s an abuse of federal power. It’s wrong.”

The 40-year-old cyclist was accused in 2010 by former teammate Floyd Landis of participating in a doping program.

Tags:  cyclist, doping, Floyd Landis, Lance Armstrong, Tour de France

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Celebrity plastic surgeon Dr Michael Zacharia, who prescribed human growth hormones to combat ageing, has been fined by the NSW Medical Tribunal.

Zacharia was found guilty of professional misconduct by the NSW Medical Tribunal.

From Dailytelegraph.com.au:

But the 47-year-old medic - fined $15,000 for illegally prescribing steroids, growth hormones and testosterone — defended his controversial treatment and said he had become a scapegoat for a practice used by doctors worldwide.

“I have had this issue placed against me but really there are lots of other doctors who are performing exactly what I was doing - thousands of other doctors both here and over in America - and it is something that for some reason I have been singled out.”

The former president of the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery and fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons was prosecuted in the Medical Tribunal after an investigation by the Health Care Complaints Commission found his cure for wrinkles was “grossly improper” and inappropriate.”

Tags:  growth hormones, human growth hormones, Steroids, testosterone

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