The sources said the former Hawthorn premiership player had confided to friends that late last year he had met figures associated with the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang. The meeting was at the Olsen Hotel in Melbourne and was in connection to a deal involving the sale by Croad of a large amount of peptides to be sourced from Sydney. Croad was involved in a peptide supply deal linked to the Comancheros. Credit:Danielle Smith AFL sources also said that Croad had approached at least two football clubs with offers to supply them with supplements. Business documents show that in September last year Croad started a company called Pharma Ventures. At the time of the Olsen Hotel meeting, peptides were unregulated and it was not illegal to sell them. It is understood that Croad had expressed surprise that the Comancheros attended the meeting. Hawthorn chief executive Stuart Fox said his club had not been alerted by the AFL or the ACC regarding Croad's peptide supply activity. Fairfax Media does not believe Croad is the player singled out by the AFL as being investigated by the ACC for using performance-enhancing drugs. That player is currently playing in the AFL.

Croad worked in a senior role at the Epigenx medical practice in Toorak until late last year, when he unexpectedly severed ties with the clinic. Former Essendon sports scientist Stephen Dank. On Monday night Croad had no comment to make when asked about his alleged meeting with the bikies or his time with Epigenx. The Epigenx clinic's founder is a respected doctor, Robin Willcourt, who last season worked with the Essendon Football Club's sports scientist, Stephen Dank, to examine blood samples from the team's players. The South Yarra pharmacy. Credit:Angela Wylie

On Monday, Dr Willcourt stressed that his clinic had no role in supplying any pharmaceuticals or sporting supplements, and that if his patients wanted such supplements they had to take their prescription to a pharmacist. He declined to talk about Croad's conduct or why Croad had left Epigenx, stating that: ''Mr Croad's activities are a matter for him.'' Fairfax Media can also reveal that a South Yarra pharmacist, Nima Alavi, supplied supplements to several of the sporting codes now under scrutiny. A leaked invoice, dated January 31, 2013, shows Mr Alavi had previously supplied supplements to Mr Dank while he was heading Essendon's sports science department. The invoice does not show what product was supplied. As a compound pharmacist, Mr Alavi's job involves mixing medicines for patients who have a prescription from a doctor.

It is not improper to sell many peptides, but their use by professional athletes may breach anti-doping regulations. Last week, Mr Alavi told the Crikey website that Mr Dank had visited his pharmacy 12 months ago and was ''coming in and proposing all sorts of crazy things'' but that his business was not involved in any impropriety. On Monday, Mr Alavi's website was listing as ''coming soon'' the hormone peptide GHRP6, which is at the centre of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority's investigation that has been triggered by the ACC inquiry. Fairfax Media is not suggesting that any of the activities of Mr Alavi have been improper. AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou, meanwhile, said he could not contact the club whose player is under suspicion of using performance-enhancing drugs to discuss the issue, let alone name that player. The AFL says the ACC has given it and the NRL permission to notify clubs that they have been identified in the ACC report into drug taking, match fixing and organised crime in Australian sport, but not about the details of the report.

Loading Mr Demetriou said he was aware of the club at the centre of the storm but did not know the player's identity. He said he was seeking clarification on the legal ramifications of informing the club that its player was involved.