From Drug trafficking to setting Spanish 10km Record

“I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time” these were the words of the new Spanish 10km National Record holder, Ilia Fifa after he was caught by the Spain National Police for allegedly being in possession of doping substances during the search of his home ten years ago in Santa Coloma de Gramenet on the outskirts of the Catalan capital.

Fifa was handed a four-year ban by the Spanish Agency for Health Protection in Sport (AEPSAD) in 2018 for alleged illegal drug trafficking alongside former Spanish 3000m Indoor champion Ayoub Mokhtar and brothers Idriss and El Mahdi Lahouifi.

READ ALSO: ADREAS ALMGREN BREAKS EUROPEAN RECORD

The 35 year-old served the four year ban and has always claimed to be innocent and that everything is false. “The National Police made a movie against me. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were investigating another athlete, Mustafa [Benslimane], they realized that he had a relationship with me, because we were lifelong neighbors in Tangier, and they saw the opportunity to make a big case,” said Fifa.

Fifa who resumed active running two years participated in this race where he then set a new life time best of 27:50 but today at the 17thh edition of the 10K Valencia Ibercaja, he managed to lower this time and also set a new National record time when he erased Abdessamad Oukhelfentime time of 27:44 with a new National time of 27:41.

 The 2016 European 5000m champion who worked as a warehouse boy, loading and unloading trucks, during his four year suspension period will be heading to court again tomorrow (Monday). My case has been stalled in court for five years and it would hurt me a lot if they dismissed it. I don’t want to be acquitted; I want to be declared innocent. I have served four years of sporting sanction, but I am innocent.” he said.

The 10K Valencia Ibercaja was won by Adreas Almgren from Sweden with a new European Record of 26:52 and was followed in second place by Switzerland’s Dominic Lobalu a second later with Vincent Langat from Kenya wrapping up the podium two minutes later.