25 people were arrested in France and another in another country of the European Union.
About 80 police officers were mobilized for this raid led by the Central Races and Games Service (SCCJ) and the Criminal Investigation Department.
Among those in custody are renowned coaches such as Yannick Alain Briand, Junior Guelpa and David Cottin.
Twenty people were arrested Tuesday morning by the police in several regions of France, Spain and Italy in a vast investigation into a possible system of equine doping in the world of trotting and galloping.
Veterinarians, pharmacists, trainers and members of their entourage: in total, "25 people were arrested and placed in police custody in France on national territory and another in a country of the European Union", a indicated to AFP the parquet floor of Bordeaux.
80 police officers mobilized
“This is the first case of this magnitude in France” dealt with by the judicial police services, underlined a police source, explaining that “the objective of the operation was to attack the entire sectors”.
In addition, a 27th person "was interviewed as part of an international letter of request in an EU country", without being placed in police custody, added the prosecution, which confirmed information from the
Parisian
.
About 80 police officers were mobilized for this crackdown which led the Central Races and Games Service (SCCJ) and the judicial police services in several regions of France (Brittany, Normandy, South-West, Rhône-Alpes).
According to the police source, two of the arrests took place in Spain and Italy.
Police custody can last up to 48 hours.
Seized doping products
The investigators were acting within the framework of a judicial investigation opened at the Jirs (specialized interregional jurisdiction) of Bordeaux in August 2021 to investigate a possible system of equine doping in the world of trotting and galloping, relating to around forty horse races. horses.
Prohibited products were seized during the search.
The investigations, conducted by an examining magistrate, aim "to dismantle the national and international sectors of doping products in the horse racing world" in this file opened in particular for "equine doping", "criminal association" and "organized gang scam “, detailed the parquet floor of Bordeaux.
The suspicions of scam are linked to the undue gains pocketed thanks to the victorious races, specified the police source.
Well known names in the racing world
Among the suspects in custody are renowned coaches such as Yannick Alain Briand, Junior Guelpa and David Cottin, according to the same source.
Aged 31, the latter, a former multi-titled obstacle jockey and become a trainer, is also the target of an investigation for rape and sexual assault on a minor opened at the end of 2021 by the prosecution of Senlis (Oise).
Reacting to the police operation, France Galop and Le Trot, organizers of the races, have, in a press release on the Internet, "condemned in advance with the greatest firmness the manipulations which could be revealed" by the investigation and "will bring all their assistance in the exploitation of all the information or data which will be collected”.
The fight against doping is an "absolute priority for the horse racing industry in France", according to the press release.
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Miscellaneous facts
Fifteen arrests in an investigation into the doping of racehorses
doping
Horse
Investigation
horse riding
pmu
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