Winter Olympics: The International Olympic Committee said yesterday that raids by its doping testers and Italian police at the mountain quarters of Austrian athletes at the Winter Olympics were a good example of collaboration.

Rejecting claims the two sides were at odds, the IOC, which initially had said they were two separate operations, said they did actually synchronise their raids hours before to minimise disruption to athletes.

Dozens of armed Italian police descended on the houses of the Austrian biathlon and cross-country skiing athletes as IOC doping officials took 10 of them to a nearby clinic for testing.

The night-time swoops came days after the IOC received a report from the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) that the Austrian team might have been visited by coach Walter Mayer, banned from the Games until beyond 2010 over blood doping at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

The IOC then passed the report to the police for any further action. "The operation took place in full co-operation with the IOC which at the same time tested several athletes for doping," police said.

Police found more than 100 syringes and 30 packs of drugs, including asthma drugs and antidepressants, in the raid. They also seized devices for blood testing and blood transfusions.

Sources close to the raids said even if the athletes' doping tests turn out negative but the equipment found is incriminating, there are ways to ban those involved.

However, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, angered by the way Italian forces had stormed the houses outside the Olympic villages, criticised Italy for treating Austria's athletes "like criminals and interrogating them for five hours".

On Monday, after meeting IOC president Jacques Rogge in Turin, he said Austria's four medals of the day "were the best reaction" to the anti-doping raids.

Mayer, meanwhile, has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital, the Austrian Ski Federation President Peter Schroecksnadel told State Radio ORF yesterday.

"Walter Mayer is in the psychiatric hospital, unfortunately. He's in custody to protect himself because apparently he's said he wanted to commit suicide or something like that. I couldn't talk to him myself," Schroecksnadel said.

Mayer, who has been banned by the International Ski Federation (FIS) and the IOC for doping violations, was charged with causing civil disorder, damage to property and assault.

Klagenfurt state prosecutor Gottfried Kranz said he charged him because he sped off when police woke him up while he was sleeping in his car in the southern Austrian village of Paternion.

Mayer had later crashed into two unoccupied police vehicles blocking the road, damaging the cars and slightly injuring a policeman.

The prosecutor will also charge him with assault and damage to property on top of the civil disorder charge.

One of the two Austrian biathletes who left after the raid said he fled because he was afraid Italy would jail him, local news agency APA said yesterday.

"After the search, I just wanted to go," Wolfgang Perner said. "A South Tyrolean carabinieri told me there were things I wasn't supposed to have. I thought I'd rather leave before they jail me and I don't see my family again."

Perner said the carabinieri's search had been "inhuman".

"I had to fully undress twice until I was completely naked," he said. He was then asked to sign a statement in Italian. I refused because I don't understand Italian, and they went really raving," he said. "I was afraid."

Perner declined to comment on whether any banned substances were found in his room. He said he had been very disappointed already before the raid because he was not listed in the Austrian biathlon relay team. "For me, it's over," Perner added. "I don't need to do biathlon ever again."

Italian prosecutors found more than 100 syringes and 30 packs of drugs, including asthma drugs and antidepressants, in a raid on Austrian Olympics bases.

Walter Mayer, former Austrian coach at centre of doping probe, is charged with civil disorder after crashing into police barrier.

Mayer is admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

Head coach of Austria's biathlon squad denies any knowledge of doping within his team.

Two Austrian biathletes, banned from Olympics after suddenly leaving for home, could be suspended from 2010 Games too, Austrian Olympic Committee says.

One of the biathletes who left the Olympics after the raid says he fled because he was afraid Italy would jail him.