Briton, five Germans charged with running doping lab

BERLIN (Reuters) – A British man and five Germans have been charged with producing significant amounts of doping substances for athletes in an underground laboratory and distributing the drugs across Germany, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

The Munich prosecutors say a 45-year-old British national has been running an underground laboratory in Waldkraiburg, near Munich, since 2009.

He is accused of producing anabolic steroid drugs for athletes and body builders. A 36-year-old German is accused of helping him.

Purchasing the required substances in countries outside Europe, he sold the drugs online to customers across Germany, earning about 120,000 euros ($130,000), the indictment said.

The prosecutor’s office said the substances distributed exceeded the legal limit for personal use by more than 27,000 times.

The other four indicted Germans, aged 31 to 59 years, were accused of purchasing some of the products.

All the suspects have admitted to the allegations and are being detained.

A trial date is scheduled for next Monday.

(Reporting by Tina Bellon, editing by Larry King)