Austria doping probe widens to include cyclist

AFP  |  Vienna 

Austrian prosecutors said Sunday that a had been charged as part of a doping probe which has already brought the arrests of seen five skiers.

mounted a series of raids on Wednesday into a doping ring thought to have been based in in and led by a 40-year-old doctor named as 'Mark S'.

"The investigations into the German doctor and his accomplices have now led to suspicions against a from the Tyrol," Hansjoerg Mayr from the Innsbruck prosecutors' office told the

Some of the raids earlier this week centred on the Austrian resort of Seefeld, where the Nordic skiing world championships were in progress.

Five skiers were arrested: Two Austrians, and Max Hauke, Estonians and Andreas Veerpalu, and Kazakh

The (FIS) later announced all five had been suspended.

Footage posted on showed Hauke apparently caught red-handed with a needle in his arm during the police raid with an looking on.

The arrests led to the resignation of Austria's Nordic Trond Nystad, who said he could "no longer motivate (himself) when such things happen".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sun, March 03 2019. 21:05 IST