At the Heart of a Massive Doping Network, an Alias

Adam Simpson On Aug. 25, 2015, a Swiss postal inspector reached into the river of 300,000 parcels that pour into that nation every day and, for a routine inspection, plucked out two packages arriving from Arizona. Inspectors unwrapped them and found serried rows of bottles.

The bottles were suspected of containing performance-enhancing drugs, so they were shipped to an antidoping laboratory for testing. Chemists discovered three synthetic compounds that are illicit gold for cheating athletes. One sped the healing of tendons and ligaments. Another helped build muscle mass. A third stimulated the body to burn fat.

The Swiss authorities notified the organization in the United States that…