Three Candian UGL steroid lab operators make court appearance.

Three Halifax men accused of conspiring to import and traffic steroids appeared in court Tuesday in person or through a lawyer. Kevin John O’Keefe, 29, James Douglas Rae, 30, and Andrew Paul Scott, 27, all face a dozen conspiracy charges in connection with police raids at a pair of Halifax addresses in March and April. Lawyer Pat Atherton appeared in Halifax provincial court for Rae. Scott has yet to retain counsel while O’Keefe told the judge he will be hiring Trevor McGuigan. O’Keefe, who also faces two charges of breaching bail conditions, will return to court next Tuesday, while Rae and Scott are due back on July 30. On March 20, members of the RCMP synthetic drug unit executed a search warrant at an apartment building on Lower Water Street. RCMP said they seized a variety of materials used in the production of anabolic steroids, including roughly 60,000 empty and 1,000 full gel-caps, three gel-capping machines, 5,000 empty vials and unused labels. About five litres of unknown liquids and one kilogram of an unknown powder were taken to the RCMP lab for analysis. Police also discovered spreadsheets consistent with a steroid and supplement business. The investigation continued and another search was conducted April 11 at a residence on St Margarets Bay Road.