Police Conduct Anti-Doping Busts Across Europe, 234 Arrested

Police Conduct Anti-Doping Busts Across Europe, 234 Arrested

A massive continent-wide police operation has netted 24 tons of anabolic steroid powder and 234 arrests across Europe, VOA news reports.

It also resulted in the closure of nine underground labs that produced performance-enhancing drugs and the dismantling of 17 organized-crime groups.

The operation involved 33 countries, including 23 EU nations, the European police agency, Europol, and the World Anti-Doping Agency  (WADA).

“This is the sort of multi-party collaboration that produces real results and can make a significant impact on the availability of counterfeit and illegal drugs used by some athletes globally,” WADA intelligence director Gunther Younger said.

Europol said the operation, co-led by law enforcement officials from Italy and Greece, was the largest of its kind.

International law enforcement agencies have recently been taking a closer look at the use of performance enhancing drugs used by athletes.

Last year,  the U.S. Justice Department charged Russian military intelligence officers in a wide-ranging case that included WADA and the football federation, FIFA.