Alberto Leon, a former mountain bike racer, was found dead in his home outside of Madrid in what appeared to be a suicide. Leon was one of several people implicated in Operación Galgo (Greyhound). Operación Galgo is the codename for a Spanish doping investigation that uncovered large quantities of anabolic steroids, stored blood bags and medical equipment used for transfusions during raids across the Iberian peninsula last year by La Guardia Civil.
Alberto Leon allegedly worked as a courier for Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes and his sister who helped transport and administer EPO and blood transfusions to several Spanish cyclists, track and other athletes connected to the doping probe.
Alberto Leon and Dr. Fuentes were two of 14 individuals, that included doctors, coaches, and pharmacists, questioned by police in connection to the doping ring. World steeplechase champion Marta Dominguez, a national hero in Spain, is the highest profile athlete connected with Operación Galgo.
The operación includes several people associated with a previous doping investigation called Operación Puerta. Prosecution during Operación Puerta was difficult given the absence of doping laws in Spain at the time. Now that doping has been criminalized, anti-doping authorities expect several charges to be fully prosecuted.
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