For Günter Younger, the fight against doping did not begin in a laboratory or on a sporting field. It began in the world of organised crime.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsLong before he became one of the key figures in global anti-doping, Younger spent years investigating drug trafficking networks, counterfeit currency syndicates and organised crime in Germany and across international law-enforcement agencies.Today, as the Director of Intelligence and Investigations at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), he applies that same investigative mindset to spot-track the people, networks and systems operating behind the use and distribution of performance-enhancing drugs.His journey from German police detective to one of the leading figures in the global fight for clean sport is an unlikely one, but one that has placed him at the centre of some of the most significant anti-doping investigations of the modern era.##NAJAVA_MECA_1001006710010067##From Bavarian police to international crimeYounger began his law-enforcement career in 1988 after graduating from police training schools in Dachau and Königsbrunn.He joined the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (BLKA), where he spent almost two decades working on complex criminal investigations.His work involved international drug trafficking, counterfeit currency and organised crime; cases that required investigators to understand how criminal networks were structured, how illicit products moved across borders and how seemingly disconnected individuals were connected.That experience would eventually prove invaluable in an entirely different arena.Zablon Chumba out to defend Lisbon title as Ruth Chebitok eyes course recordIn 2006, Younger moved to Europol, where he worked as an analyst specialising in serious organised crime. Two years later, he joined Interpol, taking on leadership responsibilities within its Drugs and Criminal Intelligence Unit.At Interpol, he worked on major international narcotics operations, including investigations that resulted in the seizure of tonnes of cocaine in West Africa.But it was at Interpol that his career took an unexpected turn. Discovering the world of sports doping, Younger was instrumental in establishing Interpol's first anti-doping section.The move brought him into a world that, while different from organised crime, shared many of the characteristics he had encountered in criminal investigations: secrecy, networks, money, illicit supply chains and people willing to go to considerable lengths to evade detection.##NAJAVA_MECA_10010072##He became a liaison between French authorities and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) during the investigation into American cyclist Lance Armstrong.It was an important moment in Younger's transition from traditional criminal investigations into sports intelligence.The experience would later help shape his understanding of doping as something bigger than an athlete taking a prohibited substance.For Younger, the real question was increasingly becoming: Who is behind the athlete?Bernard Biwott headlines loaded Frankfurt Marathon field on returnFrom cybercrime to the Russian doping investigationIn 2011, Younger returned to Germany, where he established and led the Cybercrime Division at the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office.His work in cybercrime added another dimension to his investigative expertise: digital intelligence and forensic analysis.Then came 2015. WADA appointed Younger to its Independent Commission investigating allegations of widespread doping and manipulation within Russian athletics. He served alongside former WADA president Dick Pound and Canadian law professor Richard McLaren.The investigation exposed a sophisticated system in which athletes, coaches, officials and laboratory personnel were alleged to have been involved in manipulating anti-doping controls.##NAJAVA_MECA_10010088##The findings sent shockwaves through international sport and contributed to Russia's suspension from international athletics.For Younger, the investigation demonstrated how conventional investigative techniques and emerging digital intelligence could be combined to uncover sophisticated doping systems.It also convinced WADA that intelligence and investigations needed to become a permanent and central part of its anti-doping strategy.A new role for WADAOn October 3, 2016, Younger officially joined WADA as its first Director of Intelligence and Investigations.Agnes Ngetich, Sabastian Sawe lead Kenyan charge in 2026 World Athlete of the Year nominationsThe appointment marked a significant shift in the way anti-doping investigations were approached.Rather than relying solely on testing athletes, WADA's intelligence function could pursue information, analyse networks, work with law-enforcement agencies and investigate individuals and organisations operating behind doping.That approach has become particularly important as doping itself has evolved.“You have a revolution of doping,” Younger said.##NAJAVA_MECA_10010051##The modern doping threat, he explained, cannot simply be understood by looking at the athlete who tests positive. Investigators must follow the wider trail.Following the networkOne of the biggest examples of that approach has been Operation LIMS, which involved the forensic recovery and analysis of millions of documents from the Moscow Laboratory database.The information became a crucial source of evidence in subsequent anti-doping investigations and sanctions.But Younger and WADA have increasingly looked beyond laboratories and athletes to the supply side of doping.How AK is leveraging AFCON 2027 upgrades to prepare Kasarani for 2029 World ChampionshipsThrough operations targeting illicit networks and cooperation with organisations such as Interpol and Europol, WADA's intelligence and investigations team has worked to identify those manufacturing and distributing performance-enhancing substances.That represents a fundamental change in the philosophy of anti-doping.The athlete remains important, but investigators are increasingly asking what happens before the substance reaches the athlete.Who manufactures it?##NAJAVA_MECA_10010077##Who distributes it?Who finances the operation?Who provides the knowledge?And who helps conceal it?Collen Kebinatshipi reveals next target after dominant seasonThese questions place anti-doping investigators much closer to the methods used in organised-crime investigations—the environment in which Younger first built his career.The power of whistleblowersAnother important element of Younger's work has been the use of whistleblower information.Investigators often need people inside a system to reveal what cannot be discovered through conventional testing alone.Under Younger's leadership, WADA strengthened its Speak Up! whistleblower programme, with greater emphasis on protecting the identity and security of sources.##NAJAVA_MECA_10010034##For investigations involving sophisticated networks, insiders can provide information that laboratories and testing programmes cannot.A positive test may establish that a substance was present.A whistleblower can potentially explain how it got there, who supplied it, and who helped hide it.