Patrik Sinkewitz' testimony before the German cycling federation led to the raids yesterday at the Freiburg University Clinic and the homes of former team doctors Andreas Schmid and Lothar Heinrich. Investigators looked for information concerning organized doping on Team T-Mobile in 2006, but experts on money laundering and tax evasion were also included on the search team.
Schmid and Heinrich are under investigation for having organized "fraudulent manipulation" of Teams T-Mobile/Telekom, according to the Badische Zeitung. In addition, they are said to have "gained an extensive financial profit from the fraud."
Head public prosecutor Wolfgang Maier refused to comment on whether the investigators were looking for a blood bank which was allegedly established in a basement room of the Clinic, but did tell the Süddeutsche Zeitung that they were looking for "documents concerning the storage and use of blood bags." Maier emphasized that "Blood doping is illegal – for both those who receive it and those who make it possible."
According to the Badische Zeitung it is not known whether there was any evidence still to be found. The first mention of problems with the Uni Clinic came in late April, and the newspaper reported that there was much activity at that time in the doctors' offices, with "many men carrying suitcases out of the rooms." The newspaper alleged that "even in the last few weeks more incriminating material concerning doping activities has been removed."
