Britain’s commitment to the fight against doping has been called into question by investigators who have successfully pulled off the biggest bust of the performance-enhancing drugs industry in history.

In four days of raids in September, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in the United States executed what is known as Operation Raw Deal, which involved the seizure of 56 laboratories in the US, more than 120 arrests, 1.4 million dosages of steroids and 256 kilograms of raw powder.

The DEA told The Times that Raw Deal was possible because of the co-operation from police from a long list of countries, many European, and also including Mexico, China, Colombia, Peru, Israel and Thailand, but that the one country that resisted involvement was the United Kingdom.

“UK law enforcement was not involved in Raw Deal, much to our disappointment,” Rusty Payne, the DEA spokesperson, said. He also said there was evidence to suggest some of the trafficking had come through the UK.

“UK law enforcement had the opportunity,” he said. “When large international sporting events are taking place in a country in the next few years, then it surprises me that they are not interested now. We’ve done good work with the UK in other areas of drugs, but not with steroids.”

This revelation provides further condemning evidence of the esteem with which some of the international sports community view Britain’s approach to doping. Senior figures from the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) raised fears in The Times about the ability of the 2012 Olympic hosts to fight doping when, unlike in many countries, possession of steroids is not a crime.

“The steroid laws are very good here in the US,” Payne said. “But from our standpoint, the laws in the UK are quite weak. There are many in the DEA here who think this is a problem. Maybe there isn’t enough teeth in your law. Weak drugs laws basically say: this isn’t a priority. In the US, steroids are only permissible under doctor’s prescription. Otherwise it’s a crime to possess, distribute or manufacture.”

The deaf ear that the UK turned to Raw Deal is a surprise, particularly because of repeated verbal commitments made in this country to involving the police and Revenue & Customs in fighting doping. Until recently, it was believed that more testing would win the war; that policy has been reversed to the extent that one of only two Wada-accredited laboratories in the UK lost its official status because it was not getting enough work. The idea was that funding would go into investigating the web of distributors rather than the urine samples of possible users.

Operation Raw Deal came on the back of Operation Gear Grinder that busted eight companies and 80 laboratories in Mexico. Gear Grinder showed that the Mexicans were producing and selling steroids from raw substances shipped in from China. “With Gear Grinder,” Payne said, “we thought we’d slain the dragon.”

However, the DEA soon realised that the US buyers were instead purchasing directly from China. It also discovered a plethora of amateur laboratories using bathtubs and bathroom sinks to convert raw steroid powders into the finished product using conversion kits purchased on the internet.

“Steroids and all the raw materials needed to make steroids all seem to come from one place, China,” Payne said. “We investigated 37 companies in China and have given that information to the Chinese police. They accepted that information and pledged to address it. I have cautious optimism that they will do.”

Payne is looking for similar co-operation from the UK. It may help that a working group on this subject was set up by Gerry Sutcliffe, the Sports Minister, this month, although this is not the first time that a pledge has been made to a joined-up approach to combating doping in the UK.

“We hope the UK will get involved in the future because this is not something that will go away,” Payne said. “This was not some smash-and-grab thing. This is a global problem and we cannot succeed without international co-operation.”

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