Probe launched after drug samples go missing
July 31, 2017
Drug testing at Semple Stadium
Anti-doping officials from Sport Ireland are investigating how urine samples taken from GAA players were lost by couriers on two separate occasions while en route to a World Anti-Doping Agency laboratory in Germany.
The most recent incident arose when urine samples from three members of the Westmeath hurling panel did not arrive at the WADA-accredited laboratory in Cologne for testing last month while 12 months ago, samples from three Fermanagh footballers were also lost in transition, the Irish Independent reports.
According to the newspaper, there were also seven failed attempts by anti-doping officials to test inter-county players from Carlow, Kilkenny, Westmeath, Antrim and Offaly between June 2016 and May 2017. In each case, the squads were not present for testing despite their schedules being agreed in advance.
A Sport Ireland spokesperson confirmed that an investigation has been launched by the courier company to find the missing samples, which haven't been recovered.
"Sport Ireland uses [the courier company] on average in excess of 1,500 times a year and as such occurrences such as this, while very serious, are extremely rare," the spokesperson said.
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