Fourth arrest made in domestic anabolic steroids sales investigation.

A fourth person has been arrested in connection with the investigation into the sale of illegal anabolic steroids in Magnolia and El Dorado. Courtney Blair Alston, 33, also known as Courtney Redd, was arrested Thursday. She is charged with delivery of a Schedule III controlled substance and conspiracy to deliver a Schedule III controlled substance. Austin was released Friday afternoon from the Columbia County Justice and Detention Facility under $50,000 bond. She is awaiting her first court appearance. Her arrest is part of an ongoing investigation by the Magnolia Police Department, Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Arkansas State Police and the 13th Judicial Drug Task Force.

Californian steroid user arrested.

A 20-year-old Burbank man was arrested Monday after police recovered 1,000 steroid pills and 15 vials of liquid steroids from his residence, authorities said. Police served a search warrant at the home — located in the 3300 block of West Alameda Avenue — and recovered the substances, said Burbank Police Sgt. Darin Ryburn. The man, identified as Nicholas Sayegh, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance. He is being held in lieu of $10,000 bail and is due in court this week.

British powerlifter gets suspended sentence for steroid selling website.

A WORLD powerlifting champion and gym-owner from St Ives has been given a suspended jail term for selling banned steroids to clients all over the world. David Gladwell, aged 36, of Madison Close, Hayle, ran a website selling the drugs, which can be used to make athletes stronger and more muscular, to customers in Europe, North America, Australia and the Far East. At Truro Crown Court on Monday he admitted nine counts of possessing different types of steroid – Class C drugs – with intent to supply and possessing a prohibited weapon, a CS gas spray. Gladwell was sentenced to 20 months in prison, suspended for two years, ordered to carry out 200 hours' unpaid work and made subject to a three-month curfew between 9pm and 7am daily. Philip Lee, for the prosecution, said police who raided Gladwell's home on July 5, 2012, found various substances valued at £56,000. Samples were analysed by experts and while the majority were found to be illegal, some were packaged for sale as steroids but were, in effect, fake steroids. The offences came to light after a joint investigation by the Cornwall Financial Investigation Unit (FIU), Penzance CID and drug liaison officers. Information obtained from a number of online forums relating to steroid use and supply indicated Gladwell was one of the top ten suppliers in the country. In interview, said Mr Lee, Gladwell "confirmed most of them were for sale and he confirmed he ran the website and had been doing it for about one and a half years". Gladwell also told officers he knew what he had been doing was illegal and estimated that he had made around £100,000 from it. Gladwell, who runs Evolution Gym at St Ives Rugby Club, has won a number of powerlifting titles, including one last November at the World Powerlifting Union Championships in the Netherlands, and Brian Fitzherbert, for the defence, said steroid use was commonplace in the world of powerlifting. "This defendant got into the supply of these drugs because he saw clients who were still competing going about steroid use in a totally unsafe way," he said. Mr Fitzherbert said Gladwell used the website to advise customers on safe ways of using the drugs. Gladwell's partner, Susan Davies, was originally accused of the same drugs offences but she was cleared in December after the prosecution offered no evidence against her. The court heard there was no evidence the drug dealing was in any way connected with Evolution Gym. After the hearing, financial investigator Detective Constable Mark Heffer said the seizure of drugs was significant, and indicated the size of Gladwell's business. "It's one of the largest seizures of its type in the UK," he said. "The cash in his bank accounts that's restrained by the FIU, in the sum of £114,000, shows the amount of money that can be made in this illegal trade." Confiscation proceedings are due to be brought against Gladwell in an attempt to seize some of the cash from his criminal activities.

Firefighter and wife plead guilty to steroid distribution charges.

A Parrish firefighter and his wife were arrested Friday morning and are facing federal charges of possessing and distributing anabolic steroids. Gregory Russell Waldo and Stephanie Lea Waldo were indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Tampa. The couple is charged with trafficking in anabolic steroids up until June 11, 2013, and earning $19,125, according to an indictment. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. DEA spokeswoman Mia Ro confirmed the arrests but would not comment further, saying it is still an ongoing investigation. The couple appeared before a federal judge on Friday for a first appearance hearing and bond was set at $10,000 apiece, according to court documents. Restrictions of their release include travel limited to within the federal Middle District of Florida, no drug use, submitting to drug testing and providing DNA specimens. They also must report by phone to Pre-Trial Services by 4 p.m. every Friday. Each pled guilty, and a trial is set for March 3. Their next mandatory court appearance will be for a status hearing at 9 a.m. Feb. 13 before federal Judge Richard Lazzara. Gregory Waldo has been suspended from his position at the Parrish Fire District. The suspension was ordered by Chief Mike Johnson, who was not available for comment. Others have also been charged as part of this ongoing joint investigation by the DEA, Manatee County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Former Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputy Thomas Peel was terminated after his involvement in a steroids scandal. Peel and firefighter Wayne Faulkner each pled guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids in October, according to court documents. They each face up to 10 years in prison, $500,000 in fines, two years of supervised release and a special assessment of $100. Andrew Cleveland, a personal trainer at Crunch Fitness in Sarasota; Aaron Larkin, of Bradenton; and James Sevier were also charged in the federal investigation.

Domestic source pleads guilty to Chinese steroid imports.

A Jennings man has pleaded guilty to plotting to illegally import and distribute anabolic steroids. Federal prosecutors say 33-year-old Christopher Paul Benoit faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine following his guilty plea Thursday to a conspiracy charge. His sentencing by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi is set for May 8. Prosecutors say Benoit plotted with others to order steroids online and import them by mail between January 2007 and June 2012. His indictment listed five such orders delivered from China to Jennings. A cousin - 26-year-old Regan Chase Benoit, of Jennings - pleaded guilty to related charges and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 27.

Australian customs still catching steroid shipments from Thailand.

THOUSANDS of steroid tablets have been seized by customs officers at Sydney Airport and a mailing facility during the Christmas break. Figures show that the detection of performance- and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs) by customs has almost doubled over the past three years. A 65-year-old man had his luggage searched at Sydney Airport on Christmas Day after arriving on a flight from Thailand. Officers found a range of steroids in the man's luggage and strapped to his body, the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) said on Monday. The man will be prosecuted by summons, a customs spokesperson said. On Boxing Day about 12,000 steroid tablets were seized at the NSW International Mail Facility. The tablets were hidden in a metal elephant statute from Thailand.

International online UG steroid lab and web site owners busted in the Czech Republic.

Czech police have accused six people of trading in anabolic steroids in an organised group operating in the Czech Republic and other countries, such as Cyprus, Germany, Spain and Ukraine, National Drug Centre spokeswoman Barbora Kudlackova told CTK Monday. During the crackdown dubbed Roid II, policemen seized some 100,000 tablets and 400 ampoules worth 1.3 million crowns, she added. According to the police, the accused purchased banned substances on the black market, mainly in some Asian countries, and they smuggled them to the EU where they repacked them and put forged labels on the packagings. Then they distributed them to a network of customers all over Europe on the basis of orders from Internet shops. Local policemen from the Hradec Kralove region, the Prague Customs Authority and the German customs investigation office participated in the investigation. All six accused are prosecuted on suspicion of the production and another handling of substances with hormonal effects. If found guilty, they face up to 12 years in prison. "The case has not been closed yet. In view of the extent of the investigation that is underway in Germany parallelly, it cannot be ruled out that other perpetrators may be detained and accused," Kudlackova said. Roid II followed up the Roid raid from 2012, in which the police detained an eight-member group of anabolic steroid smugglers. The abuse of anabolic steroids is risky and it harms human health. Moreover, the police warn that the purchased steroids may contain a different active substance than declared on the packaging, of possibly the genuine active substance but in a different amount. "It might have even fatal effects on the users' health," Kudlackova said. The production of and trading in anabolic steroid has been qualified as a crime in the Czech Republic since 2010. Previously, only their administration to youth was a criminal offence.

Australian fights steroid charges.

TOOWOOMBA man Jason Vary Murphy has indicated he will fight charges of supplying dangerous drugs and possessing a restricted item. His defence lawyer Nick Radich yesterday told Toowoomba Magistrates Court his 43-year-old client would be pleading not guilty to two charges of supplying a dangerous drug and possession of an extendable baton. Mr Radich asked for a trial date, saying he would have two witnesses. Police prosecutor Sergeant Tony Costa said the prosecution would have 14 witnesses. He said he believed the drugs charges related to steroids. Magistrate Bruce Shemioneck adjourned the matters to set a hearing date on March 11 next year. Murphy's bail was extended.

Californian source gets controlled delivery of Thai steroid package.

More than 3,300 illegal steroid pills and $82,000 in cash were seized from a Capitola man's home Thursday during an operation by Santa Cruz County Anti-Crime Team. About 6:15 p.m., agents from the team conducted a controlled delivery of 2,500 steroid pills to the home of Keith Atwood, 54, on the 900 block of Capitola Avenue, said Santa Cruz County sheriff's Sgt. Peter Hansen, a supervisor for the team. Atwood, who coached football Cabrillo College in 1998, bought the pills from Thailand, Hansen said. The Department of Homeland Security intercepted the package and turned it over to the Anti-Crime Team. The team set up a controlled delivery where they confirmed Atwood was the recipient of the package, Hansen said. Minutes after Atwood signed for the package, the team served a search warrant on his home and found 1,383 steroid pills, a loaded .380 9mm Kurz semi-automatic handgun and liquid steroids that included stanozolol, clomed, provironum, oxymetholone, mesterolone, testostrone cypionate, synovex h, nandrolone decanote, and danabol. They also found counterfeit Viagra and Cialis and $82,000 in cash believed to be proceeds from steroid sales, Hansen said. Hansen didn't know the estimated worth of the steroids and said they weren't common drugs encountered by the team. It's unclear who Atwood was planning to sell the steroid medicine to, Hansen said. The raid was conducted in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security and the Drug Enforcement Agency, Hansen said. Atwood was arrested on suspicion of felony possession of steroids for sale. He posted a bond of $25,000 and is scheduled for arraignment Dec. 18.

Gym owner accused of running domestic UG steroid lab.

Two area men have been arrested in connection with the manufacture and distribution of anabolic steroids and human growth hormones. Joshua Hines, 37, of Waldo, was booked Friday by the Magnolia Police Department on charges of delivery of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance with the purpose of manufacturing a controlled substance, maintaining a drug premises, possession of drug paraphernalia, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, and endangering the welfare of a minor in the first degree. Hines was released Monday on $100,000 bond. Also arrested was Drew Maza, 31, of El Dorado. He also is no longer in custody. The arrests stem from a three-month investigation into anabolic steroid distribution in South Arkansas. Investigators learned that a 411-gram package of a powered form of testosterone was shipped from China to Hines’ Magnolia business, Extreme Fitness Center on North Dudney. The package was intercepted and taken to the fitness center as part of a “controlled delivery” by law enforcement. Search warrants were issued on the gym, Hines’ residence, the Maza home and a storage unit in El Dorado. Lawmen seized 8,000 units of testosterone in various forms, including vials, bottles and pill dosage units. Also seized were drug paraphernalia including syringes and lab equipment, 35 firearms, $45,000 in cash and four vehicles.