More details from German Operacion Puerto searches

By Susan Westemeyer

Details have continued to emerge about the German investigation in connection with the Fuentes affair. The Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that the investigators took DNA samples from Ullrich's house in Switzerland, which will be compared with certain of the blood plasma found in Fuentes' office. According to the newspaper, it is not yet clear wether the comparison will be made in Spain or in Germany. German prosecutor Fred Apostel said that his office has asked the Spaniards to analyse the blood, "But if we should actually get hold of it, that would be even better."

www.n-tv.de reports that the investigators took "extensive documents" from the T-Mobile headquarters in Bonn, Germany. These papers allegedly show that Ullrich's contract, which was signed in 2003, "could be cancelled if there were even suspicion of doping." In addition, T-Mobile papers are said to have referred to Ullrich as an "unstable" talent.

In addition, it was disclosed that Olaf Ludwig's house in Stolberg, Germany, was also searched. Ludwig took over the T-Mobile team from Walter Godefroot in January of this year, and will turn the team over to Bob Stapleton on November 1.

"It was a house search like the others," he told the Aachener Nachrichten, but he did not say what might have been taken. "Of course I cooperated, because I have nothing to hide." Apostel confirmed that a "wide-ranging variety of documents" had been seized, and added that Ludwig was considered a witness rather than a suspect.