Three ex-pros involved in doping ring

In the case of the uncovered doping network involving 24 arrested persons in Belgium and South-Western France, the French press has revealed that former professional rider Laurent Roux is amongst those detained by the police, as well as his brother Fabien. Newspaper La Dernière Heure also reported Eddy Lembo being amongst those arrested. Lembo had been riding for MrBookmaker.com in 2004, but his contract ran out and the 24 year-old is currently without a team. Laurent Roux, 32, had to end his career in 2003 after testing positive for amphetamines twice. Both of them will remain in custody for further investigations.

On the Belgian side, 1988-1990 pro Jean-Marie Vernie is also implicated in the affair, as he was also one of those arrested in the French city of Cahors, as well as a former soigneur of the Belgian team ADR in the late '80s, Freddy Sergeant. According to Belgian court sources, Vernie and Sergeant are alleged to be the men behind the drug trafficking in the two countries.

At the Cahors arrests, 93 vials of "pot belge", each containing 12 ml of heroine, cocaine and amphetamine mix were recovered, as well as more than €10,000 in cash. In the French cities of Marseille and Bordeaux, police agents seized 30 vials of the same kind but empty, as well as EPO, growth hormones and various types of medicine.