Former mountain bike rider recently separated from his wife
Controversial Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes has commented on this week’s suicide of Alberto Leon, saying that he has lost a ‘friend’.
“I have wanted to mourn,” he told La Provincia de Las Palmas. “His lawyer – who is the same person as is defending me – called me and told me. I am very shocked by what happened. I lost a friend.”
Fuentes, Leon and twelve others were arrested in various locations on December 9th and doping products were seized in the raids, connected with the so-called Operación Galgo investigation. They appeared before Spanish courts and most will be facing charges. Both Fuentes and Leon were also implicated in the 2006 Operación Puerto investigation.
Fuentes will soon stand trial in relation to the latter, with prosecutors seeking to charge him with crimes against public health. While there were no specific anti-doping laws in place in 2006, the fact that Fuentes is a doctor is considered relevant as he should have realised that the poor storage of blood bags could cause health problem.
Leon was often described as a courier for Fuentes, transporting doping products and blood bags and also helping to carry out transfusions. Apart from the pressure of his arrest and the ongoing investigation, he had also experienced marital problems recently and had separated from his wife. According to Spanish media, he was saying at his brother’s house recently, and his body was found there on Monday.