The Sydney Daily Telegraph is reporting that customs officials seized the phones of Cronulla Sharks captain Paul Gallen and Manly Sea Eagles forward Anthony Watmough in separate incidents in relation to the either the ASADA or ACC investigations into alleged performance enhancing drug use in sport.
Officials are alleged to have downloaded information off both players phones before returning them.
In the fight against drug use in sports cases are being made against players via means other than positive drug test results. We are seeing more and more athletes banned across many different sports who have been convicted based on circumstantial evidence in recent years.
Obviously this does not mean either Gallen or Watmough are guilty. This is simply part of the overall investigation process and both players should be presumed innocent until such time as it is proven otherwise.
It is interesting to see these new methods being used in Australia though. It is also interesting to see the way players have been targeted. To be picked up by customs officials must have been a huge shock to both players. It shows the lengths officials are willing to go to to make their case in this investigation.
