Italian police arrested four alleged drug dealers on Friday suspected of supplying cocaine to Italian cycling great Marco Pantani, who died of an overdose in February.

Police sources had said they were pursuing one person they believed supplied the deadly dose to the 1998 Tour de France winner. Pantani was found dead in a hotel room in the coastal resort town of Rimini on February 14.

"Searches are still under way," a Rimini police official told Reuters. He added there would be a news conference later in the day.

Pantani won the Giro d'Italia in 1998 but was disqualified while leading the race in 1999 after failing a test for haematocrit -- an indicator, though not proof, of the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

In March, the doctor who carried out an autopsy on Pantani said the 34-year-old had died of an accidental cocaine overdose and ruled out suicide despite widespread speculation.