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"Beyond Research Chems" Owner Sentenced to Over 5 Years in Prison
Robert South, the owner of “Beyond Research Chems”, was sentenced to five years in prison for his role as the “head of a steroid trafficking organization” according to a press release by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on June 4, 2016.
Doug Coleman, Special Agent in Charge of DEA in Arizona, celebrated the sentencing as a government victory that protected the lives of numerous individuals around the country.
“Robert South’s far reaching drug distribution network negatively impacted the lives of many people throughout the United States,” said Doug Coleman, Special Agent in Charge of DEA in Arizona. “His sentencing today sends a powerful message that drug traffickers who profit from illegal activity, will be tracked down and brought to justice by DEA no matter where they operate.”
The DEA promoted the case as “one of the largest steroid investigations in Arizona” that involved the cooperation of numerous law enforcement agencies including the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). Ismael Nevarez Jr., the IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge, bragged about the nearly $250,000 in cash and assets the government seized through forfeiture laws.
South was a “steroid trafficker” allegedly involved in two “underground steroid laboratories”. Federal investigators claimed to have seized 114 pounds of raw steroid powder, 30 liters of liquid steroids and 8,500 steroid pills. Yet, it is unclear if the bust was really primarily a steroid bust.
The DEA released a photograph with the press released that contained the accompanying caption - “Vials of steroids at one of the steroid conversion laboratories seized by DEA”. However, none of the products featured in the picture were anabolic steroids.
The DEA provided photographed displayed numerous non-steroidal ancillary bodybuilding drugs marketed as “research chemicals” with the “Beyond Research Chems” label on them. These drugs included thyroid hormones like T4, anti-aromatases such as anastrozole and beta-adrenergic agonists such as clenbuterol. Some of the “research chemicals” were encapsulated. None of the products appeared to contain anabolic steroids.
This raises the question as to whether the DEA misidentified non-controlled substances as controlled anabolic steroids. Was the 114 pounds of “raw steroid powder” really steroid powder or simply anastrozole, clomiphene or tamoxifen? And was the liquid steroids really anabolic steroids?
The DEA certainly did everything it could to label South as a steroid dealer. It is entirely possible that South was also selling something beyond research chemicals. It just seems strange that the picture used in its press release showed a whole lot of drugs but none of them were anabolic steroids.
Robert South, the owner of “Beyond Research Chems”, was sentenced to five years in prison for his role as the “head of a steroid trafficking organization” according to a press release by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on June 4, 2016.
Doug Coleman, Special Agent in Charge of DEA in Arizona, celebrated the sentencing as a government victory that protected the lives of numerous individuals around the country.
“Robert South’s far reaching drug distribution network negatively impacted the lives of many people throughout the United States,” said Doug Coleman, Special Agent in Charge of DEA in Arizona. “His sentencing today sends a powerful message that drug traffickers who profit from illegal activity, will be tracked down and brought to justice by DEA no matter where they operate.”
The DEA promoted the case as “one of the largest steroid investigations in Arizona” that involved the cooperation of numerous law enforcement agencies including the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). Ismael Nevarez Jr., the IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge, bragged about the nearly $250,000 in cash and assets the government seized through forfeiture laws.
South was a “steroid trafficker” allegedly involved in two “underground steroid laboratories”. Federal investigators claimed to have seized 114 pounds of raw steroid powder, 30 liters of liquid steroids and 8,500 steroid pills. Yet, it is unclear if the bust was really primarily a steroid bust.
The DEA released a photograph with the press released that contained the accompanying caption - “Vials of steroids at one of the steroid conversion laboratories seized by DEA”. However, none of the products featured in the picture were anabolic steroids.
The DEA provided photographed displayed numerous non-steroidal ancillary bodybuilding drugs marketed as “research chemicals” with the “Beyond Research Chems” label on them. These drugs included thyroid hormones like T4, anti-aromatases such as anastrozole and beta-adrenergic agonists such as clenbuterol. Some of the “research chemicals” were encapsulated. None of the products appeared to contain anabolic steroids.
This raises the question as to whether the DEA misidentified non-controlled substances as controlled anabolic steroids. Was the 114 pounds of “raw steroid powder” really steroid powder or simply anastrozole, clomiphene or tamoxifen? And was the liquid steroids really anabolic steroids?
The DEA certainly did everything it could to label South as a steroid dealer. It is entirely possible that South was also selling something beyond research chemicals. It just seems strange that the picture used in its press release showed a whole lot of drugs but none of them were anabolic steroids.
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