WADA and China sign ground-breaking agreement to eliminate illegal manufacture and supply of PEDs

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the General Administration of Sport of China (GASC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will help track and eliminate the illegal manufacture and supply of Performance-Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) and raw materials for the production of PEDs in China.

The partnership signifies a significant breakthrough in the joint law enforcement-anti-doping effort to clamp down on the illegal production of PEDs in China, which are then exported to the outside world and all too often reach the hands of athletes. The agreement is timely, as it follows the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s recent investigation, Operation Cyber Juice, which resulted in a large volume of doping products being seized, much of which was obtained via the internet from Chinese chemical manufacturing companies and laboratories.

"WADA is pleased to be partnering with GASC to eliminate the illegal manufacture and supply of PEDs," said WADA Director General, David Howman. "There have been great strides made in recent years by government agencies and law enforcement in shutting down large scale doping rings," he continued. "This progress, in large part due to the relationship that the anti-doping community has forged with these key allies, has helped prevent doping substances from reaching the hands of athletes," Howman continued.

Under the agreement, WADA and INTERPOL will be instrumental in providing information to Chinese law enforcement organizations so that illegal manufacturers and suppliers of PEDs across China can be targeted and dismantled. The project will spur law enforcement agencies in other countries to investigate and arrest illegal buyers of PEDs based on intelligence that they receive from Chinese government agencies. The agreement will also allow anti-doping authorities worldwide to use information they receive from Chinese and other global government agencies to investigate possible anti-doping rule violations under the revised World Anti-Doping Code.

"The information collected during these investigations is of huge value to sports and anti-doping authorities who are then able to pursue anti-doping rule violations that may have been committed by athletes, or their entourage," added Howman. "By establishing partnerships such as this, WADA and the broader anti-doping community add another string to our bow," he said. "There is tremendous potential in sharing information and investigating the trafficking of doping substances -- with organizations that have the power to reduce and eliminate the illegal manufacture and supply of PEDs and raw materials that result in PEDs -- in a country that faces a problem with the illegal sale and exportation of banned substances."

As part of the project, GASC has developed formal links with organizations from across the Chinese law enforcement industry and counterparts worldwide. The project team will include officials from government agencies, including the police, customs, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA). INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization (WCO), both of whom have formal partnerships with WADA, will also play a role.

For more information, contact:

Ben Nichols, Senior Manager, Media Relations and Communications

Phone: + 1-514-904-8820

Cell: + 1-514-979-8820

E-mail: ben.nichols@wada-ama.org

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