A Vuelta a España doping chaperone and former professional cyclist has been arrested by Spanish police under suspicion of involvement in a scheme to manufacture performance-enhancing drugs.
José Luis Martinez was a member of the Comunitat Valenciana cycling team until 2006, when he quit after being implicated in the Operation Puerto doping bust.
Police investigated Martinez because of apparently suspicious behaviour in his role as a doping chaperone at the Vuelta a España over the past two years.
The chaperone’s role is to notify riders of their drug tests, escort them to the test facility and watch them provide a sample.
The arrest comes after a raid on a factory by police in Murcia found evidence of a doping ring manufacturing steroids, clenbuterol, testosterone, and plasma.
Another cyclist snared in Operation Puerto, Thomas Dekker, said that he would give a complete confession to the Netherlands’ doping authority. “All [those details], including the names of people who helped me [to dope], will be given to the anti-doping authority,” he told The Telegraph. The trial of Operation Puerto defendants Eufemiano Fuentes, José Luis Merino Batres, and Manolo Saiz is scheduled to start on Monday.
Via