PSNI inquiry into cocaine greyhounds

Two greyhound owners who doped their dogs with cocaine could face criminal prosecution.

Police in Northern Ireland have confirmed they have requested the results of tests carried out by Bord na gCon's National Greyhound Laboratory based in Limerick.

Stephen Ryan, from Lisburn, Co Antrim, was fined €2,000 when two of his greyhounds, She's a Promise and He's a Buck, tested positive for the prohibited substance benzoylecgonine (a metabolite of cocaine).

Another dog owner, David Wilson from Belfast, was fined €1,000 when Tullyglen Hubba similarly tested positive following a race in Dundalk in April.

The fines and a severe reprimand were handed out by the independent Control Committee which was set up last June to deal with all doping penalties.

The request was made to Bord na gCon's regulation department earlier this week.

A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) spokesman said: "police have contacted an outside agency to request information in relation to the misuse of illegal drugs. Police inquiries are ongoing".

The secretary of the Control Committee, DJ Histon, confirmed the request had been made. "We will have no difficulty co-operating with them [ the PSNI]. We will give them any information they want".

The Irish Greyhound Owners and Breeders Federation welcomed the intervention of the PSNI.

Its chairman, Des Cowan, said: "I feel a recommendation to seek a prosecution should have been made by the Control Committee. Class A drugs are class A drugs and they are not just breaking the rules of racing, they are breaking the law."