"A criminal network" that provided performance-enhancing drugs to athletes who tested positive at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2010 Vuelta a España, among other competitions, was dismantled according to a statement by Catalan regional police Mossos d'Esquadra, working alongside national police.
Spanish police have detained 10 people involved in an international doping network involving professional cycling and athletics.
"The established infrastructure in Spain is characterized by an organization that had many contacts in the world of elite sport," the statement read, adding the police had not discounted more arrests in an operation that has reportedly been nicknamed 'Operation Skype.'
The Mossos d'Esquadra said the ringleader was "Dr. Alberto BN" — reported to be former Liberty Seguros team doctor Alberto Beltrán Niño. Beltran, who resides in Bahrain, previously worked for cycling teams Liberty Seguros and Xacobeo-Galicia and has been incarcerated since trying to board a flight from Madrid to Colombia on March 5.
Cesar Perez, the former trainer of world steeplechase champion Marta Domínguez who was arrested in December 2010's Operation Galgo, was also reported to have been detained.
Beltrán's international network included contacts in Morocco and Colombia in an operation based out of Barcelona. Among the drugs distributed were growth hormone EPO CERA and steroids.
Beltrán also worked for Xacobeo-Galicia, whose rider David Garcia tested positive for EPO at the 2010 Vuelta.
In 2009, Portuguese cyclist Nuno Ribeiro accused Beltran of injecting him with performance-enhancing drugs in the wake of his positive test for EPO CERA at the Tour of Portugal, which is also mentioned by the Mossos d'Esquadra.
The Mossos d'Esquadra said police began the investigation in the summer of 2011, monitoring a store in Barcelona that "presumably was related to the positive EPO of a Catalan athlete at the 2012 Spanish Championship." Middle distance runner Jose Luis Blanco appears to have aided the investigation after being banned for two years following a positive test at those same national championships.
"Given the proximity of the 2012 London Olympics, the group resolved to disband when the ringleader was in Spain," the statement said.
British intenet source and UG lab operator busted in Spain.
POLICE in Spain have arrested a Cheltenham man after smashing an alleged international drug ring making illegal sex stimulants.
Scott Boote, 39, is being held after being picked up by National Police in the Costa Del Sol.
Officers have also confiscated a haul of the drugs with a street value put at almost £3 million.
Also facing questions alongside Boote is fellow Briton, 72-year-old Derek Hughes, from Liverpool.
Police say they believe the pair are part of a gang of eight making the sex drugs without any medical or health controls before selling them on the internet.
Five Spaniards and a Swiss woman are also being held for questioning.
According to detectives, the group had been living in the lap of luxury.
The officers said they had been using tax havens around the globe as well as buying property and cars to hide the money being made from the venture. Police have blocked bank accounts as they seized 110,000 doses of anabolic drugs alongside property and vehicles worth an estimated 3.5 million euros (£2.9 million).
A spokesman for the Spanish police said: "All the members (of the gang) had a high standard of living and acquired numerous properties, luxury cars and property abroad, some in tax havens like Panama, to hinder any type of asset tracking." The sexual enhancers can be made for both men and women.
The police say the drugs were being sold on the internet to customers around the world from the gang's base in Malaga and ingredients for the aphrodisiacs were bought across to the factories in Torremolinos and Coin after being purchased in spots around the world, including the UK, America, Malaysia and Thailand.
Three factories were set up in the popular Costa del Sol resorts to produce the drugs, the police said. But officers believe those making the drugs had no medical knowledge of how to produce the sex stimulants safely.
The arrests took place in Torremolinos and Coin.
Officers believe the gang had created a series of legitimate businesses around the world in order to hide their criminal activities.
They are looking into whether other gang members living in countries outside of Spain had been contacted.
"Their activities and the profits were masked by commercial companies, seeking to give an appearance of legality to illegal activities," the spokesman added.
Alongside the drugs, officers found boxes ready to be labelled and sent out to buyers.
The spokesman said: "Among the seized 110,000 doses of substances were anabolic steroids and illegal drugs used primarily as enhancers. Officers also located countless cardboard packages of the products, labels and leaflets to be affixed to containers."
Scott Boote, 39, is being held after being picked up by National Police in the Costa Del Sol.
Officers have also confiscated a haul of the drugs with a street value put at almost £3 million.
Also facing questions alongside Boote is fellow Briton, 72-year-old Derek Hughes, from Liverpool.
Police say they believe the pair are part of a gang of eight making the sex drugs without any medical or health controls before selling them on the internet.
Five Spaniards and a Swiss woman are also being held for questioning.
According to detectives, the group had been living in the lap of luxury.
The officers said they had been using tax havens around the globe as well as buying property and cars to hide the money being made from the venture. Police have blocked bank accounts as they seized 110,000 doses of anabolic drugs alongside property and vehicles worth an estimated 3.5 million euros (£2.9 million).
A spokesman for the Spanish police said: "All the members (of the gang) had a high standard of living and acquired numerous properties, luxury cars and property abroad, some in tax havens like Panama, to hinder any type of asset tracking." The sexual enhancers can be made for both men and women.
The police say the drugs were being sold on the internet to customers around the world from the gang's base in Malaga and ingredients for the aphrodisiacs were bought across to the factories in Torremolinos and Coin after being purchased in spots around the world, including the UK, America, Malaysia and Thailand.
Three factories were set up in the popular Costa del Sol resorts to produce the drugs, the police said. But officers believe those making the drugs had no medical knowledge of how to produce the sex stimulants safely.
The arrests took place in Torremolinos and Coin.
Officers believe the gang had created a series of legitimate businesses around the world in order to hide their criminal activities.
They are looking into whether other gang members living in countries outside of Spain had been contacted.
"Their activities and the profits were masked by commercial companies, seeking to give an appearance of legality to illegal activities," the spokesman added.
Alongside the drugs, officers found boxes ready to be labelled and sent out to buyers.
The spokesman said: "Among the seized 110,000 doses of substances were anabolic steroids and illegal drugs used primarily as enhancers. Officers also located countless cardboard packages of the products, labels and leaflets to be affixed to containers."
Firefighter bailed after steroids bust by US customs.
A Greenville firefighter is free on $50,000 bond after his arrest for possession of steroids.
Police Sgt. Delando Wilson tells the Delta Democrat Times that Fire Capt. Matthew Craig Beecham was arrested at his home Wednesday by police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Wilson says authorities found eight types of steroids and a large bag of syringes at Beecham's home. Beecham has been charged with drug possession.
Wilson says there's no evidence that Beecham was distributing the steroids.
Wilson says Beecham faces two to 10 years in jail if convicted.
Beecham was released on bond after an appearance in city court.
Police Sgt. Delando Wilson tells the Delta Democrat Times that Fire Capt. Matthew Craig Beecham was arrested at his home Wednesday by police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Wilson says authorities found eight types of steroids and a large bag of syringes at Beecham's home. Beecham has been charged with drug possession.
Wilson says there's no evidence that Beecham was distributing the steroids.
Wilson says Beecham faces two to 10 years in jail if convicted.
Beecham was released on bond after an appearance in city court.
Corporate HGH smugglers get tiny fine.
A Plattsburgh pharmaceutical company and its president, a Canadian citizen, were fined $15,000 this week for mislabeling more than $1 million worth of human growth hormone that was imported from China and distributed to pharmacies around the country.
The case has ties to a 2007 investigation by the Albany County district attorney's office targeting pharmaceutical companies that illegally sold steroids and other anti-aging drugs.
Antonio Dos Santos, 63, of Montreal and Plattsburgh-based Medisca, Inc., also must forfeit $1.76 million to the U.S. government. Dos Santos and the company pleaded guilty to misdemeanor federal drug charges last October in Albany.
U.S. Magistrate David R. Homer this week ordered Dos Santos to pay a $5,000 fine and the company to pay $10,000.
A former Orlando pharmacy, Signature Compounding Pharmacy, whose owners and operators are under indictment, was among the customers of Medisca, Inc., which also has a corporate office in St. Laurent, Quebec.
John L. Pacht, an attorney from Burlington, Vt., entered a guilty plea on behalf of Medisca last fall.
Plea agreements signed by Dos Santos and Pacht said that between July 2004 and February 2007 Medisca imported 1,737 grams of human growth hormone from China. The criminal accusation is that the company marketed the drug as an "FDA approved drug" which is false, federal prosecutors said.
Dos Santos founded Medisca in 1989. The $1.76 million forfeiture represents the company's gross profits from the unlawful drug sales.
The company ceased importing human growth hormone in February 2007. That month, a multi-agency task force raided Orlando's Signature Compounding Pharmacy. The arrests of Signature's operators were made on warrants filed by Albany County prosecutors who obtained felony indictments against Signature's operators related to the alleged sale of performance-enhancing drugs, including steroids, to customers that included pro athletes and celebrities.
Albany County prosecutors have said Medisca was a primary supplier of Signature pharmacy.
Albany prosecutors allege in their charges that Signature was selling growth hormone to people nationwide who had no legitimate medical reason for the drug.
The plea agreements require Medisca face spot checks by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for one year. The company must pay the costs of those inspections.
Dos Santos had faced up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
Records show Dos Santos, who founded Medisca in 1989, pleaded guilty to a similar charge for illegally importing shipments of minoxidil (Rogaine), a hair-growing product, from Canada into the United States in 1989, when it was prohibited.
The Minnesota conviction was vacated in 2007 after Dos Santos' lawyers filed a motion arguing his plea was flawed and that minoxidil is now approved for distribution in the United States.
The case has ties to a 2007 investigation by the Albany County district attorney's office targeting pharmaceutical companies that illegally sold steroids and other anti-aging drugs.
Antonio Dos Santos, 63, of Montreal and Plattsburgh-based Medisca, Inc., also must forfeit $1.76 million to the U.S. government. Dos Santos and the company pleaded guilty to misdemeanor federal drug charges last October in Albany.
U.S. Magistrate David R. Homer this week ordered Dos Santos to pay a $5,000 fine and the company to pay $10,000.
A former Orlando pharmacy, Signature Compounding Pharmacy, whose owners and operators are under indictment, was among the customers of Medisca, Inc., which also has a corporate office in St. Laurent, Quebec.
John L. Pacht, an attorney from Burlington, Vt., entered a guilty plea on behalf of Medisca last fall.
Plea agreements signed by Dos Santos and Pacht said that between July 2004 and February 2007 Medisca imported 1,737 grams of human growth hormone from China. The criminal accusation is that the company marketed the drug as an "FDA approved drug" which is false, federal prosecutors said.
Dos Santos founded Medisca in 1989. The $1.76 million forfeiture represents the company's gross profits from the unlawful drug sales.
The company ceased importing human growth hormone in February 2007. That month, a multi-agency task force raided Orlando's Signature Compounding Pharmacy. The arrests of Signature's operators were made on warrants filed by Albany County prosecutors who obtained felony indictments against Signature's operators related to the alleged sale of performance-enhancing drugs, including steroids, to customers that included pro athletes and celebrities.
Albany County prosecutors have said Medisca was a primary supplier of Signature pharmacy.
Albany prosecutors allege in their charges that Signature was selling growth hormone to people nationwide who had no legitimate medical reason for the drug.
The plea agreements require Medisca face spot checks by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for one year. The company must pay the costs of those inspections.
Dos Santos had faced up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
Records show Dos Santos, who founded Medisca in 1989, pleaded guilty to a similar charge for illegally importing shipments of minoxidil (Rogaine), a hair-growing product, from Canada into the United States in 1989, when it was prohibited.
The Minnesota conviction was vacated in 2007 after Dos Santos' lawyers filed a motion arguing his plea was flawed and that minoxidil is now approved for distribution in the United States.
Turkish bus driver caught smuggling steroids into Turkey from Bulgaria.
Customs inspectors have seized a large amount of anabolic steroids at Lesovo checkpoint on the Bulgarian-Turkish border, announced the press center of the National Customs Agency.
They were found in a Turkish bus traveling on its regular route from Bulgaria to Turkey. The vehicle arrived at the checkpoint at 1:10 a.m. local time. The two drivers and stewardess said they were transporting nothing that needed to be declared. Despite that the customs inspectors carried out a check and found a large amount of anabolic steroids in a hollow behind the rear tires. They took out 46,600 tablets, 1,774 ampoules and 30 different solutions.
The second driver, a 35-year-old Turkish citizen, admitted having hidden the anabolic steroids in the bus and was detained.
The anabolic steroids were seized. An investigating customs inspector is working on the case. Pre-trial proceedings were opened.
They were found in a Turkish bus traveling on its regular route from Bulgaria to Turkey. The vehicle arrived at the checkpoint at 1:10 a.m. local time. The two drivers and stewardess said they were transporting nothing that needed to be declared. Despite that the customs inspectors carried out a check and found a large amount of anabolic steroids in a hollow behind the rear tires. They took out 46,600 tablets, 1,774 ampoules and 30 different solutions.
The second driver, a 35-year-old Turkish citizen, admitted having hidden the anabolic steroids in the bus and was detained.
The anabolic steroids were seized. An investigating customs inspector is working on the case. Pre-trial proceedings were opened.
Wife of British Dragon / Asia Pharma owner granted bail in Austria.
Alenka Karner has been released from custody in Austria's Klagenfurt on bail, while her husband Mihael Karner remains in custody pending a decision on the Slovenian couple's extradition to the US on charges of illegal import and distribution of anabolic steroids and money laundering.
Canadian steroid dealer arrested after classified website ads.
An online advertisement offering steroids for sale has led to a Cambridge man facing charges.
Earlier this month, Guelph Police became aware of a Kijiji advertisement offering steroids for sale.
Police arranged to meet with a man in connection with the advertisement in the parking lot of a Guelph gym.
The man was searched and police found and seized four different steroids worth about $655 on the street.
A 21-year-old man from Cambridge man is charged with two counts of trafficking a controlled substance and two counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.
He will appear in court in April.
Earlier this month, Guelph Police became aware of a Kijiji advertisement offering steroids for sale.
Police arranged to meet with a man in connection with the advertisement in the parking lot of a Guelph gym.
The man was searched and police found and seized four different steroids worth about $655 on the street.
A 21-year-old man from Cambridge man is charged with two counts of trafficking a controlled substance and two counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.
He will appear in court in April.
Polish steroid busts update.
Here is the latest update I received by email on what's going on in Poland. I hope it's not too hard for readers to work out who is who. Board reps and unarrested employees will be in denial mode as usual. The bottom line is that if you are expecting a delivery from Poland you would be wise to clean house especially if it's running late.
"I let you guys know because my friend is polish and works for XXXXX and there is a huge LE operation running in Poland. XXXXXXXXXXXXX.com is 3rd source busted in row.
XXXXXX, XXXXX and XXXXXXXXXXXXX.com were main distributors of fake Omnadren in Poland, EU and North America.
It was more profitable then meth, pot or coke
and real mob money went into it. Everything changed in Dec 2011
when XXXXXX got busted and it is said that he works with LE and
rats on people. XXXXXXXXXXXXX.com got busted exactly on Feb. 28th. They
owe a lot of money and try to collected more before they vanish. I
will keep you posted."
"I let you guys know because my friend is polish and works for XXXXX and there is a huge LE operation running in Poland. XXXXXXXXXXXXX.com is 3rd source busted in row.
XXXXXX, XXXXX and XXXXXXXXXXXXX.com were main distributors of fake Omnadren in Poland, EU and North America.
It was more profitable then meth, pot or coke
and real mob money went into it. Everything changed in Dec 2011
when XXXXXX got busted and it is said that he works with LE and
rats on people. XXXXXXXXXXXXX.com got busted exactly on Feb. 28th. They
owe a lot of money and try to collected more before they vanish. I
will keep you posted."
Owners of Asia Pharma and British Dragon will be extradited to the USA.
The Graz Higher Regional Court confirmed on Tuesday the 11 January ruling of the Klagefurt Provincial Court to extradite to the US Alenka and Mihael Karner, a Slovenian couple suspected of illegal import and distribution of anabolic steroids into the US.
Unsealed legal documents give more info on Californian UG steroids lab.
Simi Valley police seized liquid steroids, an electric pill press machine and other items while serving a 2009 search warrant in a steroid manufacturing investigation of Ventura County Supervisor Peter Foy's son, unsealed court documents show.
The search warrant was served at two Simi Valley locations where Peter Foy II's defense attorney, Ron Bamieh, said his client "was known to reside." Police also searched a truck.
Bamieh said he did not know whether one of the locations was the senior Foy's residence, but the address matches the one listed by the supervisor as his home on a California Fair Political Practices Commission form filed last year.
Among the items seized by police were a bank statement belonging to the senior Foy and the title to a truck in his name. Court documents do not specify from which location the items were seized.
The county supervisor did not return calls to The Star seeking comment.
The younger Foy, 33, was arrested in December 2009 and charged in July with the illegal manufacturing and sale of HGH, a human growth hormone, which bodybuilders and others use. Foy is a personal trainer.
He has pleaded not guilty to the felony charges and remains free on his own recognizance pending the case's resolution.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Brian Back last month granted The Star's request to unseal an inventory of the items police seized but denied the newspaper's request to unseal the search warrant affidavit. The affidavit is a sworn declaration police filed with the court in 2009 to support their request for a search warrant, detailing the investigation and evidence.
Among the items police seized after getting the search warrant were liquid steroids, liquids and powders believed to be steroids, an electric pill press — a machine used to produce pills — syringes, handwritten notes about steroids and nearly $4,000 in cash, according to the inventory.
Other confiscated items were a handgun, ammunition, a cellphone, the younger Foy's passport, a ledger of gambling debts and a floor safe.
"To whom they belong, I am not sure," Bamieh said of the seized items. "The issue with Mr. Foy's case is, legally speaking, defense-wise, the conduct of the police officers and promises made that were not kept. And those issues will be litigated in due time, and those will be the issues resolving the case."
Bamieh, who represents The Star on First Amendment issues, declined to provide more details.
The prosecutor in the case is California Deputy Attorney General Diana Callaghan. She did not return calls seeking comment. Her office took over prosecution at the request of the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, which recused itself to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
District Attorney Greg Totten and the county supervisor are friends and political allies, Chief Assistant District Attorney James Ellison has said. The two have endorsed each other's campaigns, and Foy has contributed money to Totten's campaign.
The younger Foy faces a preliminary hearing March 26 on four felony counts — conspiracy to commit a crime, possession for sale of a controlled substance, manufacturing HGH and maintaining a place to sell or use controlled substances. If convicted, he could be sentenced to state prison.
The search warrant was served at two Simi Valley locations where Peter Foy II's defense attorney, Ron Bamieh, said his client "was known to reside." Police also searched a truck.
Bamieh said he did not know whether one of the locations was the senior Foy's residence, but the address matches the one listed by the supervisor as his home on a California Fair Political Practices Commission form filed last year.
Among the items seized by police were a bank statement belonging to the senior Foy and the title to a truck in his name. Court documents do not specify from which location the items were seized.
The county supervisor did not return calls to The Star seeking comment.
The younger Foy, 33, was arrested in December 2009 and charged in July with the illegal manufacturing and sale of HGH, a human growth hormone, which bodybuilders and others use. Foy is a personal trainer.
He has pleaded not guilty to the felony charges and remains free on his own recognizance pending the case's resolution.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Brian Back last month granted The Star's request to unseal an inventory of the items police seized but denied the newspaper's request to unseal the search warrant affidavit. The affidavit is a sworn declaration police filed with the court in 2009 to support their request for a search warrant, detailing the investigation and evidence.
Among the items police seized after getting the search warrant were liquid steroids, liquids and powders believed to be steroids, an electric pill press — a machine used to produce pills — syringes, handwritten notes about steroids and nearly $4,000 in cash, according to the inventory.
Other confiscated items were a handgun, ammunition, a cellphone, the younger Foy's passport, a ledger of gambling debts and a floor safe.
"To whom they belong, I am not sure," Bamieh said of the seized items. "The issue with Mr. Foy's case is, legally speaking, defense-wise, the conduct of the police officers and promises made that were not kept. And those issues will be litigated in due time, and those will be the issues resolving the case."
Bamieh, who represents The Star on First Amendment issues, declined to provide more details.
The prosecutor in the case is California Deputy Attorney General Diana Callaghan. She did not return calls seeking comment. Her office took over prosecution at the request of the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, which recused itself to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
District Attorney Greg Totten and the county supervisor are friends and political allies, Chief Assistant District Attorney James Ellison has said. The two have endorsed each other's campaigns, and Foy has contributed money to Totten's campaign.
The younger Foy faces a preliminary hearing March 26 on four felony counts — conspiracy to commit a crime, possession for sale of a controlled substance, manufacturing HGH and maintaining a place to sell or use controlled substances. If convicted, he could be sentenced to state prison.
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