The Public Ministry accuses Nuno Ribeiro, Adriano Quintanilha and the general director Hugo Veloso of having devised “a scheme” of doping in the W52-FC Porto to “increase the profitability” of the cyclists, according to the accusation to which Lusa had access. .
According to the Public Ministry (MP), which accuses 26 accused of trafficking prohibited substances and methods, and of these 14 for administration of prohibited substances and methods, within the framework of the ‘Prova Limpa’ operation, Adriano Sousa, popularly known as Adriano Quintanilha and ‘boss’ of W52-FC Porto, its former sports director Nuno Ribeiro and Hugo Veloso, the team’s accountant and general manager, will have formulated, “at least since 2020”, the purpose “of increasing the profitability of their cyclists […] for better results.”
Thus, “in the search for their purpose”, the three defendants “devised a scheme by which the cyclists directed by them”, 10 of them also accused in this process, “would begin to use doping practices, namely the use persistent manipulation of blood, constitutes a prohibited method, as well as the administration and consumption of prohibited substances”.
The deputy considers that Nuno Ribeiro, “making use of the professional ascendancy that he held over the cyclists of his team, […] among them promoted the consumption of prohibited substances”, namely betamethasone, growth hormones, testosterone and insulin, among others, as well as “the extraction and reintroduction of blood”, a practice commonly known as blood transfusion.
More instructed them on methods to introduce them into the body without subsequently being detected in anti-doping controls, […] as well as provide them with instructions for their administration”, instructing them “on the days, hours and manner of administering said substances, taking into account, namely, the dates of the tests”, reads the indictment, which lists several occasions in that this happened, as in the 2021 editions of the Volta a Portugal, the Volta do Alentejo or the Troféu Joaquim Agostinho, or in the Volta ao Algarve and in the Grande Prêmio O Jogo, already in 2022.
According to the office, to which the Portuguese agency had access today, Nuno Ribeiro and his deputy, José Rodrigues, “with the knowledge and consent” of Adriano Quintanilha and Hugo Veloso, “would buy, deliver and decide that their cyclists would have to manage” substances “on the current list of prohibited substances and methods”.
The former sports director of the ‘blue and white’ is especially the object of the accusation, which indicates that Ribeiro acquired the substances “and then delivered them to the cyclists, kept them at home and in hotels, when he competed”, “he prepared the substances and left them already in the syringes in the cyclists’ rooms or he would call them to his room and hand them over to them to be consumed”, and “he would question them about what they had taken and when”.
The 45-year-old former cyclist, who lost his victory in the 2009 Tour as a rider due to doping, also bought the necessary supplies for blood transfusions and even “made sure that there were always blood bags available for the cyclists on the bus.” . and in transportation […] and for the collection in the rooms and hotel of the bags that contain the blood of the cyclists and for their forwarding at the moment in which the reintroduction must be carried out ”.
The Department of Criminal Investigation and Action (DIAP) of Porto details the substances seized in the framework of the ‘Prova Limpa’ operation, launched on April 24, 2022, namely those that were in possession of the 10 former W52 cyclists -FC Porto accused of prohibited traffic. substances and methods, and that “the defendants, during the telephone conversations they had with each other, avoided mentioning the names of substances” and illegal practices, using “coded words/expressions in order to make it difficult to detect their activity.” by the sports authorities and the police”.
João Rodrigues, Rui Vinhas, Ricardo Mestre, Samuel Caldeira, Daniel Mestre, José Neves and Ricardo Vilela -already suspended by the Portuguese Anti-Doping Authority-, and Joni Brandão, José Gonçalves and Jorge Magalhães, whose cases continue to be the former W52 riders -FC Porto were defendants for the car, being Daniel Freitas, who represented the ‘dragons’ between 2016 and 2018, the other cyclist accused of trafficking substances and prohibited methods, while the process of Amaro Antunes, three-time champion of Vuelve, has been archived.
“To obtain said substances, the accused Nuno Ribeiro and the accused cyclists turned to people they trusted or exchanged said substances between them,” the order adds.
For Porto’s DIAP, “Adriano Sousa, Hugo Veloso and Nuno Ribeiro always acted with joint efforts and intentions through a plan prepared by them, of professional hierarchical dependency that the cyclists that made up the […] W52-FC Porto had determined to consume illicit substances and use methods that it knew were prohibited”, which it did in order to “obtain patrimonial and non-patrimonial advantages for the team”.
The three, as well as José Rodrigues, “seriously abuse their profession, violating the duties of action in favor of the sporting development of the modality and of the cyclists and the sporting truth, encouraging and encouraging doping among those who practice the sport.”
The office points out, however, that the 11 cyclists involved “practiced the facts […] always freely, voluntarily and consciously, with the sole and specific purpose of obtaining pecuniary and non-pecuniary personal or team gain through the consumption of prohibited substances and the manipulation of blood or the use of other prohibited methods. .
Source: TSF
