124 People Busted in Global Steroid Ring

[blm]

The Drug Enforcement Administration said today that 124 people had been arrested across the country over the past four days in connection with a performance-enhancing drug trafficking ring.

Officials said the investigation, named Operation Raw Deal, started with more than 30 Chinese companies, which were shipping raw materials needed to make steroids and human growth hormone to manufacturers and labs in the United States and nine other countries.

Since Thursday, the federal government has raided 56 sites in the United States and seized 242 kilograms of steroid and 1.4 million steroid dosage units.

The facilities in which the drugs were manufactured ranged from the basements of homes, to garages, bathrooms and medical laboratories, authorities said.

No names of athletes have been linked to the investigation yet, Rusty Payne, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration, said in a telephone interview, but thousands of e-mails connecting users to the manufacturers were seized by the federal government.

“If we come across names, are we going to provide them to the leagues? That is going to be the decision of the Department of Justice and the United States attorney’s offices that have those aspects of the case,” Payne said.

Although the government has not gone through the trove of information connecting users to the steroid ring, Payne said: “We have the ability to identify individual customers, and that should send chills down the spines of athletes and high school and college students who were buying from these manufacturers. We can find you, based on our data base.”

Payne said Chinese authorities were cooperating with the investigation.

“Rather than publicly name and indict these companies in China, we thought it would be more effective to work with Chinese law enforcement partners and provide them with information so they could go after the companies, which includes as many as 37, that were shipping raw materials,” he said. “They have agreed to move forward with their investigation in China.

“There are a lot of sensitive things that go into dealing with a nation like China. We are pleased so far they have done everything we have asked them to, they have agreed to accept the reports and move forward and that is unprecedented.”

The drug case came at a time when the quality of imports from China have become an issue in the two countries. Tens of thousands of toys made in China have been recalled in recent weeks on suspicion of having unacceptably high level of lead in paint and other hazards for small children. Some Chinese-made toothpaste was found to contain a chemical usually used in automotive antidreeze and not intended for human consumption.

Payne said the World Anti-Doping Agency and the United States Anti-Doping Agency had been partners in the investigation, which has spanned 18-months.

Operation Raw Deal followed on the heals of an investigation in 2005 that targeted eight Mexican steroid manufacturers. After those manufacturers, which authorities said provided four out of every five steroid pills in the world, were shut down, a void was created in the market for performance-enhancing drugs that Chinese companies filled.

“Operation Raw Deal uncovered a clandestine web of international drug dealers who lurk on the Internet for young adults craving the artificial advantage of anabolic steroids,” Karen P. Tandy, the administrator for the Drug Enforcement Administration, said in press release. “Today we reveal the truth behind the underground steroid market: dangerous drugs cooked up all too often in filthy conditions with no regard to safety, giving Americans who purchase them the ultimate raw deal.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration said that many of the labs it raided “were extremely unsanitary, further illustrating the danger in buying these products illegally. For example, recent lab seizures uncovered huge amounts of raw materials being mixed in bathtubs and bathroom sinks.”

The other countries cooperating with the investigation include: Mexico, Canada, China, Belgium, Australia, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Thailand.

The investigation, authorities said, was focused on many United States-based Web sites that sold “conversion kits,” which could be used to convert raw steroid powders into a finished product. Investigators also targeted Internet discussion boards where users learned “how to illicitly use, locate and discreetly purchase performance enhancing drugs, including anabolic steroids. Many of the underground steroids labs targeted in this case advertise and are endorsed on these message boards.”

News conferences are to be held today in New York, San Diego, Kansas City, and Providence. All are scheduled for 1 p.m. E.S.T.

[THE BOUNCER]

Lesson to learn from all this. Dont sell steroids. If you do, you will be busted. Dont order powders from china, if you do, you will be busted. Anyone that sells steroids or orders large amounts of materials and lives in the US is a dumbass. Not worth it.

[rado]

Originally Posted by THE BOUNCER

Lesson to learn from all this. Dont sell steroids. If you do, you will be busted. Dont order powders from china, if you do, you will be busted. Anyone that sells steroids or orders large amounts of materials and lives in the US is a dumbass. Not worth it.

Sell crack

[THE BOUNCER]

CNN article

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/24...ust/index.html

Federal drug officials say they've arrested 124 people and busted 56 labs in the largest illegal steroid investigation in U.S. history.

The 18-month investigation, dubbed "Operation Raw Deal," targeted traffickers who allegedly imported raw materials from China and used them to make anabolic steroids, human growth hormone and insulin growth factor, the Drug Enforcement Administration said.

"Today we reveal the truth behind the underground steroid market: dangerous drugs cooked up all too often in filthy conditions with no regard to safety, giving Americans who purchase them the ultimate raw deal," DEA Administrator Karen Tandy said in a statement.

Authorities made arrests in 27 states, including busts in Los Angeles, California; New York City; San Diego, California; Providence, Rhode Island; and Kansas City, Missouri.

They seized more than 530 pounds of raw materials and 11.4 million steroid dosage units in the United States, officials said, enough to supply hundreds of users.

Most of the arrests were made between Thursday and Sunday, the DEA said.

Chinese authorities cooperated with the investigation, which targeted 37 companies in China, the DEA said.

So far, one Chinese lab has been shut down, officials said.

The Chinese "have done everything" they were asked to do, said DEA spokesman Rusty Payne.

The operation, according to the DEA, also cracked down on underground trafficking of counterfeit medications as well as Web sites that were distributing materials that helped in converting raw steroid ingredients into the finished product.

"DEA successfully attacked the illegal steroid industry at every level of its distribution network-from the manufacturers in China who supply the raw materials, to the traffickers in the United States who market the deadly doses," the DEA statement said.

Besides China, other countries which cooperated in the operation included Mexico, Canada, Belgium, Australia, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Thailand, officials said.

[house1]

Originally Posted by THE BOUNCER

Lesson to learn from all this. Dont sell steroids. If you do, you will be busted. Dont order powders from china, if you do, you will be busted. Anyone that sells steroids or orders large amounts of materials and lives in the US is a dumbass. Not worth it.

doesnt have to be large amounts and you dont have to be selling them -- i know this for a fact

trust me - and media is hyping it up as usual -- oh and europe among other countires are next on list

if you do them period you may have a very high chance of getting popped

[THE BOUNCER]

Originally Posted by house1

if you do them period you may have a very high chance of getting popped

they aren't going to come after a guy running a cycle of test bro. they are going after people ordering powders etc. weather or not your intent is to sell or for personal use. by ordering powders you are sending out a flag saying, "i am interested in manufacturing." this is the big no no. buying 2 bottles of test and using them is a very different thing from buying powders from china and making them into steroids in your house.

Euro gear will always be the same. its a whole different ball game over there. most of that stuff is human grade and made by real company's. you also have many many country's in Europe who just wont work with the US. its a big area and that will not change. just like Mex shit, UG labs will soon be a thing of the past along with the china crap. it will go back to the old days where the only thing around is the stuff from Europe. honestly, its a good thing. it is sad however to see guys getting popped that really had nothing to do with selling. they just have to realize that you cannot order raw materials with the intent to make them into steroids and think the feds wont mind. sorry to say it brother, but I have been saying this for years.

[house1]

Originally Posted by THE BOUNCER

they aren't going to come after a guy running a cycle of test bro. they are going after people ordering powders etc. weather or not your intent is to sell or for personal use. by ordering powders you are sending out a flag saying, "i am interested in manufacturing." this is the big no no. buying 2 bottles of test and using them is a very different thing from buying powders from china and making them into steroids in your house.

Euro gear will always be the same. its a whole different ball game over there. most of that stuff is human grade and made by real company's. you also have many many country's in Europe who just wont work with the US. its a big area and that will not change. just like Mex shit, UG labs will soon be a thing of the past along with the china crap. it will go back to the old days where the only thing around is the stuff from Europe. honestly, its a good thing. it is sad however to see guys getting popped that really had nothing to do with selling. they just have to realize that you cannot order raw materials with the intent to make them into steroids and think the feds wont mind. sorry to say it brother, but I have been saying this for years.

agree bro -- human grade much better anyway

[redsquirrel]

Well, it sounds like they are even interested in the end user??

[rado]

The investigation, authorities said, was focused on many United States-based Web sites that sold “conversion kits,” which could be used to convert raw steroid powders into a finished product. Investigators also targeted Internet discussion boards where users learned “how to illicitly use, locate and discreetly purchase performance enhancing drugs, including anabolic steroids. Many of the underground steroids labs targeted in this case advertise and are endorsed on these message boards.”

Only a matter of time before they start to shut boards down...

[THE BOUNCER]

Originally Posted by redsquirrel

Well, it sounds like they are even interested in the end user??

again, the end user who is ordering powders. you arent going to here about a guy that got busted for using 3 bottles test for personal use. ordering powder from china on a regular basis is a much different thing from personal use. in the feds eyes, powder means manufacturing.

[THE BOUNCER]

Originally Posted by rado

Only a matter of time before they start to shut boards down...

where have you been for the last 5 years? they have always watched these boards. there is nothing wrong with discussing steroids, diet, supplements etc.. as long as you don't sell steroids, you are fine. if you do sell, you will get busted, just a matter of time. this board is simply a discussion about all the things involved in the bodybuilding lifestyle. nothing more.

[ROCKETW19]

Originally Posted by THE BOUNCER

where have you been for the last 5 years? they have always watched these boards. there is nothing wrong with discussing steroids, diet, supplements etc.. as long as you don't sell steroids, you are fine. if you do sell, you will get busted, just a matter of time. this board is simply a discussion about all the things involved in the bodybuilding lifestyle. nothing more.

yes and as long as we keep it this way this board will be here untill you decide you dont want it.

[FrankTheTank55]

Michigan arrests

2 charged in big lab bust
Detroit DEA officials on Thursday discovered what they believe is the largest steroid lab ever busted in Michigan, spokesman Rich Isaacson said. Seized were 28,080 steroid tablets, nearly 10,000 grams of powdered steroids and 5,326 milliliters of liquid steroids, he said. Timothy Edward Smith, 31, of Taylor and Jeffrey Mitchell, 35, of Brownstown Township are charged with conspiracy to distribute illegal steroids and conspiracy to launder money.

I grew up with that Tim guy. I knew he was into the stuff but not like that. I wonder how much time charges like that will get you??

[redback]

They watch these boards all the time, a mate in australia just got raided today for an order from six months ago, they also mentioned a couple of the boards

[GearTripper]

Originally Posted by redback

They watch these boards all the time, a mate in australia just got raided today for an order from six months ago, they also mentioned a couple of the boards

who mentioned that and which boards? why all the cloak and dagger shit all the time? don't mean to come off sounding like an ass but this is how rumors get started.

[redback]

i dont know which boards they mentioned to him i was not there and i dont think that he will be posting the names up any time soon. If you get around some of the other boards you will know that with some of them it was only a matter of time before the shit hit the fan. I only mentioned it because the topic came up and figured some of you knew the situation.

[redback]

Bottom line is, anyone who has been ordering from OS is getting done.

[redback]

I dont know if you guys know, this isnt just the U.S, its happening everywhere, their busting ppl all over australia right now and its not just dealers, its users( if you orderd overseas).

[THE BOUNCER]

it has more to do with ordering powders from oversees. when you do that countless times it sends out the red flags that powder mean manufacturing.