Three held on doping charges

THREE men have been arrested in connection with the alleged doping of a race-horse.

Sherif Mohamed Salama Hussein and Haled Fawzy Awad Kandil, both from Egypt and now residing in Cyprus, and Savvas Charalambous, 45, are being held in custody to assist with investigations into the alleged illegal doping of a race-horse.

The case was bought to the attention of the police on Monday by a Cyprus Race Track horse trainer, Panayiotis Javarjidi. According to Javarjidi’s testimony, the horse, Princessa Salma, who came first in a race on July 11, was doped.

During interrogation, police said Hussein had implicated Kandil as having given an injection containing drugs to Princessa Salma 15 minutes before the race. Hussein then allegedly implicated Charalambous, the owner of a coffee shop outside the race-course, as having provided them with the doping substance.

Ayios Dometios police are investigating the incident.

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