The Spanish public prosecutor overseeing the Operation Ilex anti-doping probe has recommended a significant scaling back in the potential legal consequences of the case, even as a wealth of fresh details has emerged about the long-standing investigation into an alleged trafficking ring of both permitted and illegal sports performance-enhancing substances.
Colombian cycling star Miguel Angel López, who currently remains suspended by the UCI for potential anti-doping offences, has been linked through Ilex to Doctor Marcos Maynar, the university professor who allegedly masterminded the ring. Both Maynar and López have repeatedly said they are innocent of any wrongdoing.
According to El País, in December the state prosecutor overseeing the case recommended in a report that the number of individuals that could face charges be reduced to four of the eight initially under investigation: Maynar, the former sports director Vicente Belda and two other individuals, not professional bike racers, who allegedly formed part of the commercial side of the ring.
El Pais quoted the prosecutor’s report as saying there was not enough evidence of direct doping to move further ahead with other charges, with the report apparently stating “it was not sufficiently demonstrated which athlete was due to receive [injectable medical products].”
Nor was it possible to show, the report added, “which race they [the products] were connected with, nor if they were actually used or had a particular effect [on performance], nor what degree of risk was involved [by using them].”
Parts of the prosecutor’s report were published in multiple Spanish media on Sunday alongside fresh details of the official police report into Ilex, including tapped phone conversations and text messages said to be from López, Maynar and others caught up in the case.
According to at least four different Spanish media sources, the official police report claims evidence shows that López had multiple different medications and vitamins recommended by Maynar for his consumption during the countdown to the 2022 Giro d’Italia, including one codenamed ‘testis’ and another ‘coconut oil’.
According to the police report, after investigators tapped a phone call, one parcel containing one of these products was located en route to one of Maynar’s intermediaries and opened before being allowed to continue to its destination and, ultimately, López.
The report says the package was found to contain four vials of the banned…
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