Drugs in Sport: Break-in thickens Waterford plot

A break-in at the offices of the Equestrian Federation of Ireland in the early hours of yesterday morning added another twist to the story of the horse Waterford Crystal, with whom Cian O'Connor won the individual gold medal for show-jumping in Athens.

A break-in at the offices of the Equestrian Federation of Ireland in the early hours of yesterday morning added another twist to the story of the horse Waterford Crystal, with whom Cian O'Connor won the individual gold medal for show-jumping in Athens.

On 8 October it was announced that the A sample of a dope test taken at the Olympics had proved positive. Next came Monday's revelation that part of the B sample had been stolen. Both break-in and theft are under police investigation.

The B samples, which were identified by a code, were sent by courier from Paris to the Horseracing Forensic Laboratory at Newmarket, where part of the specimen was found to be missing. Following yesterday's break-in at the offices in Co Kildare, an anonymous fax was received at RTE radio in Dublin, which purported to know the names of the forbidden substances alleged to have been found in Waterford Crystal's A sample.

According to medical and veterinary experts, these are used for treating human patients with psychiatric conditions but are not recommended for horses.