Sniffer dogs among new anti-doping tactics in UK

London: Sniffer dogs and a 50% increase in tests are among the new measures to be used in UK AntiDoping’s (Ukad) war on drug cheats.

Ukad has been given an additional £6.1mil (RM33.9mil) by the British government over the next two years, boosting its annual budget to £11mil (RM61.2mil).

Speaking to journalists at the launch of its strategic plan for 201822, Ukad chairman Trevor Pearce said the extra money had enabled the agency to hire 10 new employees and set a target of 6,000 publicly funded tests a year by 2022.

These extra tests, he said, would provide a greater deterrent, allow Ukad to test sports it previously did not have the resources to cover, go further down the pyramid and produce more data for its eight-strong intelligence and investigations unit.

But with fewer than one in 50 tests coming up positive – a rate most experts believe does not reflect the true prevalence of doping – Ukad knows testing is only part of the answer, which is where its “innovations commission” comes in.

“We are looking at innovative disruptive activities that could range from somebody in a Ukad jacket at an event, as an obvious deterrent, to using sniffer dogs to detect money or doping products,” Pearce said.

“If we were allowed access, there would be no reason why those tactics couldn’t be applied to those seeking to track performance-enhancing substances into events or facilities.”