Drugs in Sport: American federal agents have raided the home of Victor Conte, the founder and owner of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), and seized e-mails and other records as part of an investigation into leaks relating to sport's biggest doping scandal.
At least a dozen FBI agents descended on Conte's mock-Tudor mansion in one of San Francisco's smartest suburbs on Wednesday and spent four hours there before leaving with a computer, mobile telephone and documents.
It comes a month after the San Francisco Chronicle reported on grand jury testimony by the baseball stars Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi in which they admitted using anabolic steroids. That prompted a US district judge to ask the Justice Department to investigate how the newspaper had obtained details of the testimony.
It is not illegal to publish sealed grand jury testimony, but reporters risk being found in contempt of court for not divulging their sources.
"Our responsibility in the media and the press is not to enforce the government's secrecy regulations," said Phil Bronstein, the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. "We will absolutely protect the integrity and confidentiality of our sources."
The US press has speculated that the agents may also have been searching for information on Trevor Graham, the coach of the Olympic 100 and 200 metres champions Justin Gatlin and Shawn Crawford, and John Smith, trainer of the 2000 Olympic 100 metre gold medallist Maurice Greene.
The world 100 metre record holder Tim Montgomery testified to a grand jury in 2003 that Graham provided steroids to his athletes.
Graham sent a syringe containing the then unknown anabolic steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), distributed by BALCO, to a lab in Los Angeles in June 2003. Scientists there were able to identify the substance and develop a test for it.
The first athlete to be caught out was Britain's Dwain Chambers, the European 100 metre champion, who was banned for two years.
Many leading names have become embroiled in the scandal, including the triple Olympic champion Marion Jones and Montgomery, both of whom used to be coached by Graham.
Conte admitted on US television and in a magazine article last month that he had distributed anabolic steroids, as charged, contradicting an earlier not guilty plea. He is one of four men charged, along with Remi Korchemny, Chambers' coach, who has pleaded not guilty.
Conte, it is assumed, may now be attempting to plea bargain. "Conte made a national confession," Korchemny's lawyer George Walker told the San Jose Mercury News.
"He's dead. The only reason he would go to trial is he wants a forum, a platform, and he wants to talk."
Guardian Service
