A doctor, a weight room instructor, and a bodybuilder have been sanctioned with lengthly bans after being prosecuted for their part in a network that supplied prohibited substances to amateur Italian athletes. It is understood that policeman Vincenzo Catapano worked with Biagio Varriale and weight room instructor Loris Losi, who sourced anabolic steroid nandrolone from suppliers to sell to amateur athletes. Varriale and Losi, who are understood to have frequented the same gym as Catapano, have both been sanctioned with a 20 year ban for their part in the operation.

Catapano was placed under house arrest as part of the ‘Good Drugs’ police operation in 2018 and is understood to be awaiting trial. Gabriele Mara, a surgeon, is understood to have procured anastrozole for Catapano by falsifying prescriptions. Mara has yet to face trial, but has been sanctioned with a ten year ban. 

Italy’s national anti-doping agency (NADO Italia) also announced that Rocco Pittelli has been sanctioned with a ten year ban. Pittelli was sanctioned for possession of prohibited substances and trafficking. It is understood that he was arrested in March 2019 as part of a police operation investigating the international trafficking of prohibited substances and narcotics.