A report commissioned by U.K. racehorse owner SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN RASHID AL-MAKTOUM has revealed that the Sheikh himself "has been cleared of having any knowledge of three drug-related incidents," according to James Riach of the London GUARDIAN. Former Metropolitan Police Chief Commissioner JOHN STEVENS "was employed to investigate a series of damaging incidents and interview a series of key figures." The report concluded that the seizures of unlicensed veterinary goods by British authorities resulted from "a sense of complacency" within the Sheikh's management structure. Stevens interviewed several figures within Sheikh Mohammed's equine operations, "including the disgraced former trainer MAHMOOD AL-ZAROONI who was banned by eight years by the British Horseracing Association" (GUARDIAN, 2/12). REUTERS' Josh Reich wrote the report, which was completed through the global advisory firm Quest, confirmed the BHA’s findings that Zarooni acted alone in procuring and transporting drugs to the U.K., "and that the seizures at Stansted and Moorley Farm were a result of management failings, insufficient oversight and complacency." It also said that "there was no evidence of any link between the Zarooni case and the later seizures at Stansted Airport and Moorley Farm, and that the products seized were not illegal and are widely used and considered safe" (REUTERS, 2/12). In London, Ben Rumsby wrote the report reveals that "the Sheikh has commissioned a taskforce and internal compliance unit which will operate independently and have the power to visit any part of his equine operation at any time." Stevens said, "Throughout our investigation of the three entirely separate incidents, we have established that no evidence whatsoever exists to suggest that HH Sheikh Mohammed had any knowledge of the purchase, transportation or use of any unregulated medicines. Equally, neither did he have any knowledge of the illegal activities of Mahmood al-Zarooni" (TELEGRAPH, 2/12).
