A World Anti-Doping Agency program aimed at building cooperation with law enforcement in Europe led to the seizure of more than 25 tons of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), and now officials hope to see a similar impact in Oceania and Asia.
WADA launched the Intelligence and Investigations (I&I) program in Europe in 2022, which is expected to lead to the launch of five anti-doping operations among the 48 participating countries.
Nearly a year after the program ended, more than 100 operations are underway across the continent, seizing more than 25 tons of illegal PEDs and closing 25 laboratories, WADA’s I&I director Gunter Younger told Reuters.
“They prevented over 500 million doses of PEDs from entering the global market, which is really important,” the German said.
“So that’s where our management decided, wow, that’s a good project, we want to continue.”
“Now we hope to have the same impact in Asia and Oceania, maybe on a different scale.”
WADA I&I staff are meeting with anti-doping and law enforcement officials on the Gold Coast, Australia, this week to share intelligence and build capacity to fight crime in the Oceania region.
The workshop is the first of six to be held across the region and Asia this year, as WADA calls on national anti-doping enforcers and police to work together to shut down the production and distribution of illegal PEDs.
The Gold Coast workshop, sponsored by Sports Integrity Australia, is limited to participants from Oceania, including New Zealand and Pacific nations.
Other workshops this year in Saudi Arabia, India and Thailand will feature Asian nations including China, a major producer of substances used in PEDs.
Younger says China’s participation is important to better understand the country’s legal framework for these substances.
“Sometimes the substances used in PEDs or pre-cursors are allowed, but the trafficking is not,” he said.
“So if we know (the legal framework), if there are criminals and if (the activity) is against Chinese law, we can provide that intelligence to China.”
China’s commitment to anti-doping efforts was questioned when 23 of the nation’s swimmers tested positive for the banned drug before last year’s Tokyo Olympics but were allowed to compete in the Games.
Chinese authorities blamed corruption in a hotel kitchen after an investigation. WADA, on the advice of lawyers, declined to challenge the findings.
While defending WADA’s handling of the case, Younger noted that it had strained relations with the United States, a key player in the global anti-doping fight.
He said the majority of illegal PEDs seized in Europe during WADA’s program were manufactured in Asia and bound for the U.S. market.
Last year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into China’s handling of the case, and the US government has withheld more than $3.6 million in funding owed to WADA in 2024, about 6% of the global body’s annual budget.
Despite the friction between WADA and the US, Younger said his I&I team has a good working relationship with its counterparts at the US Anti-Doping Agency and hopes to launch I&I workshops in the US with US involvement.
But he acknowledged that it could take some time for that to happen.
“I know it’s political. I stay out of political discussions. If I had a case with the US tomorrow, I would call them and say, ‘Let’s work together,’” he said.
“So by next year, by 2027… we hope it will be resolved so we can get back to where we want to be, fighting doping, not each other.”
