WADA and Interpol to crack down on doping
October 4, 2016
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and Interpol are joining forces to try and crack down on criminal networks trafficking performance enhancing drugs.
The two agencies are looking to identify links between organized crime and the trafficking of banned substances - including anabolic steroids, growth hormones, peptides and EPO - in sports.
Dubbed Project Energia, the program will be funded by WADA. Interpol said the joint venture would use targeted criminal analysis to track down traffickers.
Oliver Niggli, the director general of WADA, said that the initiative "is a key component in the global fight against doping. By joining forces, WADA and Interpol are better able to share intelligence on trafficking methods and on those who manufacture and distribute dangerous substances to athletes seeking an edge."
Niggli added that the project would help "support efforts to cut off the supply of performance enhancing drugs at the source, before they manage to get into the hands of athletes." He said that it would "contribute significantly to protecting clean sport."
bik/msh (AP, dpa)