Bernard Sainz, the man whose arrest triggered a search of the home of Belgian cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke, was refused bail Tuesday after a judge determined that drug charges against the French horse trainer were too serious to allow his release.

Sainz was arrested last week after police found amphetamines and syringes in his car when he was stopped for a speeding offense.

Following Sainz's arrest, police raided the home of cyclist Vandenbroucke and seized banned substances, including the blood-boosting drug EPO, morphine, and the steroid clenbuterol. Sainz and Vandenbroucke were taken into custody last Thursday. The cyclist was soon released on bail, but a court in Termonde, northern Belgium, on Tuesday ruled Sainz would remain behind bars because of the seriousness of the allegations, and because of fears he may re-offend.

Sainz's lawyers have lodged an appeal against the ruling. Sainz, known as 'Dr. Mabuse' after a 1922 film depicting a fake doctor, was charged in 1999 with breaking the law relating to toxic substances and doping products and imprisoned for two months last May.

Copyright AFP2002