Italian drugs cheat Riccardo Riccò has been accused of receiving banned substances in a new Livorno probe that on Wednesday saw nine arrests. Riccò, 31, nicknamed the Cobra in his heyday, remains under contract to UCI Continental team Meridiana-Kamen, but is suspended from all competition until 2024.

Ricco was obliged to sign off on his involvement in the case along with two other former cyclists Luca Benedetti and Matteo Cappè, who was placed under house arrest. All three athletes are not new to doping investigations. He was previously ejected from the 2008 Tour de France for doping violations and suspended. Riccò returned to competition in late-2010, but in February 2011 he was fired by his team, Vacansoleil-DCM, after he became seriously ill allegedly through a self-administered autologous blood transfusion.

About Bennedetti, he was suspended in 2010 for his part in the Padua investigation during the GiroBio. He tested also positive for EPO from a test last June 6 at the Grand Prix Saguenay.