W52-FC Porto doping trial begins with confession

The trial of 26 accused of trafficking in substances and methods prohibited in cycling, involving the W52-FC Porto team, began this Thursday in Pacos de Ferreira with the confession of an amateur cyclist and the statements of two other accused.

The trial, which began nearly an hour late and continues Thursday afternoon, began with testimony from the three defendants.

Marco Paulo Vilela Magalhães, a cousin of runner Ricardo Vilela who identified himself as a businessman, admitted using illegal substances “to win” in amateur races such as the Granfondo and admitted asking a member of his family what to take with him. . improve productivity.

“I never helped or organized this. If I did, I didn’t know. I wanted to take another walk and asked him. He tried to avoid the conversation, but I was bored. (…) [Perguntava] to see if he could figure out what he should accept. He never confirmed that he accepted it,” he said.

The judge then presented the defendant with documentary evidence in which he exchanged messages with a professional cyclist about what substances to take, and also discussed substances other than betamethasone (“diprofos”) and their quantities, denying that he had given him any product . .

In addition, he stated that he knew the other accused who testified, Rui Souza, also from Braganca, who denied any illegal practice, arguing that the exchange of messages with Ricardo Vilela in which he sent the cyclist a photo of a box of diprofos did not prove a significant deal, but rather a confession between “friends” after they read about a doping case abroad.

“[Foi] bad joke. At any time I gave, sold or provided any substance to Ricardo. [Vilela]”, said the former president of the Bragança Cycling Association, who also denied knowing most of the accused in the room.

On the other hand, he admitted that Vilela asked him “in one situation or another and out of friendship” to order several substances for him, for example TB 500, although he said that he did not do this.

“I never helped or was present when Ricardo Vilela did this. [transfusões]. I was never present. The truth is. (…) He asked me, as a friend, to go home and have coffee with him for half an hour, because he was afraid that he would get sick and there would be no one to help him,” he said.

The third witness to take the stand this Thursday in Pacos de Ferreira was Carina Lourenço, a pharmacy technician in Vila Real de Santo António and daughter-in-law of Samuel Caldeira, another accused cyclist.

Lourenço admitted that he sold his son-in-law several products, such as diprofos (betamethasone) and others, but because he had “permission from the responsible person, even without a prescription,” to carry out the transaction, following the procedure. including six invoices for these purchases seized from the company.

The defendant stated that she never asked about the prescription of the medications or their potential impact on athletic performance, claiming that she was acting with the permission of the pharmacy manager.

“When I have permission, I sell. I was dragged into a situation that wasn’t my fault, where I sold because I had a permit and didn’t know what it was for. (…) I don’t know. I don’t know if I took it or what I took,” he said.

Additionally, Carina Lourenço said she initially asked permission to sell because it was for a family member, and later responded that the request was because she had to place an order.

The identification of the accused also allowed us to understand that 10 of the accused intend to testify, while others such as Adriano Quintanilla, the “boss” of the team, Nuno Ribeiro, the sporting director and several former cyclists, remain silent for now.

Cyclists Joao Rodrigues, Rui Vinhas, Samuel Caldeira, Ricardo Mestre, Ricardo Vilela, Daniel Freitas and Daniel Mestre have expressed their intention to speak out.

The trial, which started late compared to the scheduled time, began proceedings in a pavilion adjacent to the Pacos de Ferreira prison; a new meeting was scheduled for Friday and will last until at least June 28.

In the trial, which began this Thursday, all 26 defendants are responsible for trafficking in substances and prohibited methods, but only 14 of them are responsible for the use of substances and prohibited methods.

Among them are Adriano Teixeira de Souza, known as Adriano Quintanilla and the “boss” of W52-FC Porto, the Associação Calvário Várzea Clube De Ciclismo – the club that created the team – the then sporting director Nuno Ribeiro and his “deputy”. Jose Rodriguez.

João Rodrigues, Ruy Vinhaes, Ricardo Mestre, Samuel Caldeira, Daniel Mestre, José Neves, Ricardo Vilela, Joni Brandao, José Gonçalves and Jorge Magalhães are former W52-FC Porto cyclists who are on trial for trafficking in psychoactive substances and are banned. methods, as well as Daniel Freitas, who represented the Dragons from 2016 to 2018.

On September 29, 2023, the Penafiel Criminal Investigative Court announced all the defendants in the Prova Limpa case “exactly in accordance with the prosecutor’s charges.” [MP]”.

According to the MP, Adriano Quintanilla, Nuno Ribeiro and Hugo Veloso, the accountant and CEO of the team, have formulated, “at least since 2020,” the goal of “increasing the profitability of their cyclists.” […] in order to obtain better results.”

With the exception of Jorge Magalhães, whose case is still being examined at the sporting level, all the other cyclists are serving doping sanctions, with seven of them – Rodrigues, Viñas, Ricardo and Daniel Mestre, Caldeira, Neves and Vilela – admitting their guilt. before the Portuguese Anti-Doping Authority (ADoP), which reduced their sentences by one year.