Italian police in early morning drugs raid on Russian biathletes' hotel

Italian police carried out an early-morning anti-doping raid Saturday on the Russian team's hotel at the biathlon world championships, a police spokesperson confirmed to AFP.

Two Russians were targeted, biathlete Alexander Loginov, who won 10 kilometre sprint gold on February 15, and his personal coach Alexander Kasperovich, the head of Russia's biathlon federation Vladimir Drachev told Russian news agencies.

"Today police came to the hotel at 5:50 am... The police visit was on the request of a member of the IBU," Drachev told Interfax news agency, referring to the International Biathlon Union.

Drachev said the search was "linked to the fact that...Kasperovich was using another person's accreditation".

He said he had gone to a police station with Kasperovich.

Loginov served a two-year ban for using the banned blood booster EPO from November 2014 to November 2016.

"This could be a repeat case. They (the police) searched his things for one and half hours and confiscated his devices," ...