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ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- A search of a warehouse used by the coach at the center of a doping scandal involving Greece's star sprinters uncovered small amounts of anabolic steroids. a government agency said Monday.
A prosecutor and two inspectors from Greece's National Organization of Medicines searched Christos Tsekos' offices and warehouse Aug. 21 and took possession of the supplements.
The supplements included materials that do not have a distribution license" from the agency, a statement said.
The agency, known as EOF, said more than 1,000 "units" of food supplements had ephedrine as their main ingredient.
"Small quantities of medicines that contained anabolic steroids" were also found in the warehouse, EOF said.
Most of the products were manufactured in the United States, Bulgaria and Germany, the agency said.
The agency would "take all the necessary actions that are foreseen by the law," the statement said, without elaboration.
EOF added that "the inspections would continue and expand in all directions."
Tsekos' lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, said the supplements in the warehouse were legal.
"There is nothing illegal and nothing prohibited in the containers that Mr. Tsekos' company imports," he said.
Last week's search of Tsekos' facilities was part of an inquiry into whether 2000 Olympic medalists Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou tried to avoid a doping test on the eve of the Athens Games by staging a motorcycle accident.
Kenteris, the 200-meter gold medalist at the Sydney Games, and Thanou, who took the silver in the 100 meters, could not be found at the Olympic Village for an Aug. 12 drug test. Hours later, they were reported to have been in a motorcycle accident that kept them hospitalized for days.
They have denied any wrongdoing.
In a related development, Grigoris Peponis, a prosecutor in the Athens port of Piraeus, opened a preliminary investigation into allegations made by Greek weightlifter Leonidas Sampanis, who was stripped of his bronze medal Sunday, that someone could have slipped him a banned substance without his knowledge. Sampanis' coach has also repeated the claim.
Sampanis, who was third in the 62-kg category Monday after winning silvers at the previous two Olympics, tested positive for testosterone and was disqualified by the International Olympic Committee's executive board. He was expelled from the games.
It was not immediately clear if Peponis' actions would lead to a formal inquiry.
The government has said it will push for a full investigation into any allegation that Greek athletes may have take banned substances and would strip offenders of any privilege given to them by the state. Olympic medalists are regularly given jobs in the military or security services.
"An investigation is ongoing from the responsible ministries and the judicial probe is ongoing, the findings from the judicial probe are going to the prosecutor. The next steps will be decided by the government and the government will announce them at the appropriate time," government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said.
Tsekos' warehouse was searched by EOF inspectors looking for 641 boxes containing food supplements that are unlicensed in Greece. Dimitrakopoulos said last week that those supplements were legal and there were documents to prove it.
The health ministry said Monday that a confiscation order for the 641 boxes was issued in September 2003. Those boxes, however, were found on Aug. 21 when the inspectors used a search warrant to enter Tsekos' warehouse. The ministry released a copy of the confiscation order.
It said Health Minister Nikos Kaklamanis "sent a copy of the confiscation order" to chief prosecutor Dimitris Papagelopoulos, who is supervising the investigation into the motorcycle accident, Tsekos' activities and his food supplement business.
Officials first became aware of the Tsekos' connection to the supplements last year when a consumer complained about getting ill from them. Tsekos was fined $18,300.
Ephedrine is used in weight-reducing formulas and other medicines, and a version of the drug was linked to the death of U.S. pitcher Steve Bechler of the Baltimore Orioles. Some athletes take it to get a short-term energy burst and to increase alertness, but it's on the list of banned substances for Olympic competitors.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- A search of a warehouse used by the coach at the center of a doping scandal involving Greece's star sprinters uncovered small amounts of anabolic steroids. a government agency said Monday.
A prosecutor and two inspectors from Greece's National Organization of Medicines searched Christos Tsekos' offices and warehouse Aug. 21 and took possession of the supplements.
The supplements included materials that do not have a distribution license" from the agency, a statement said.
The agency, known as EOF, said more than 1,000 "units" of food supplements had ephedrine as their main ingredient.
"Small quantities of medicines that contained anabolic steroids" were also found in the warehouse, EOF said.
Most of the products were manufactured in the United States, Bulgaria and Germany, the agency said.
The agency would "take all the necessary actions that are foreseen by the law," the statement said, without elaboration.
EOF added that "the inspections would continue and expand in all directions."
Tsekos' lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, said the supplements in the warehouse were legal.
"There is nothing illegal and nothing prohibited in the containers that Mr. Tsekos' company imports," he said.
Last week's search of Tsekos' facilities was part of an inquiry into whether 2000 Olympic medalists Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou tried to avoid a doping test on the eve of the Athens Games by staging a motorcycle accident.
Kenteris, the 200-meter gold medalist at the Sydney Games, and Thanou, who took the silver in the 100 meters, could not be found at the Olympic Village for an Aug. 12 drug test. Hours later, they were reported to have been in a motorcycle accident that kept them hospitalized for days.
They have denied any wrongdoing.
In a related development, Grigoris Peponis, a prosecutor in the Athens port of Piraeus, opened a preliminary investigation into allegations made by Greek weightlifter Leonidas Sampanis, who was stripped of his bronze medal Sunday, that someone could have slipped him a banned substance without his knowledge. Sampanis' coach has also repeated the claim.
Sampanis, who was third in the 62-kg category Monday after winning silvers at the previous two Olympics, tested positive for testosterone and was disqualified by the International Olympic Committee's executive board. He was expelled from the games.
It was not immediately clear if Peponis' actions would lead to a formal inquiry.
The government has said it will push for a full investigation into any allegation that Greek athletes may have take banned substances and would strip offenders of any privilege given to them by the state. Olympic medalists are regularly given jobs in the military or security services.
"An investigation is ongoing from the responsible ministries and the judicial probe is ongoing, the findings from the judicial probe are going to the prosecutor. The next steps will be decided by the government and the government will announce them at the appropriate time," government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said.
Tsekos' warehouse was searched by EOF inspectors looking for 641 boxes containing food supplements that are unlicensed in Greece. Dimitrakopoulos said last week that those supplements were legal and there were documents to prove it.
The health ministry said Monday that a confiscation order for the 641 boxes was issued in September 2003. Those boxes, however, were found on Aug. 21 when the inspectors used a search warrant to enter Tsekos' warehouse. The ministry released a copy of the confiscation order.
It said Health Minister Nikos Kaklamanis "sent a copy of the confiscation order" to chief prosecutor Dimitris Papagelopoulos, who is supervising the investigation into the motorcycle accident, Tsekos' activities and his food supplement business.
Officials first became aware of the Tsekos' connection to the supplements last year when a consumer complained about getting ill from them. Tsekos was fined $18,300.
Ephedrine is used in weight-reducing formulas and other medicines, and a version of the drug was linked to the death of U.S. pitcher Steve Bechler of the Baltimore Orioles. Some athletes take it to get a short-term energy burst and to increase alertness, but it's on the list of banned substances for Olympic competitors.
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