Think ordering AS off the internet is the way to go? It might have been throughout the late 90’s and early 2000’s, but for those people waiting around for their cycles to arrive, neatly boxed and packaged, in southern California this past December 2005, a rude awakening was in store.

Not just one of the largest, but the largest steroid bust in the history of the U.S., and possibly the world, went down on December __ 2005. Why was southern California a hotbed of focus and Fed activity? Well, the eight largest Mexican anabolic steroid manufacturers, along with their owners [and distributors on the American side] were charged with drug trafficking and money laundering, and it was the biggest thing in law enforcement in a long, long time.

This was no ordinary border bust, this was something that could impact the way people buy, sell and use steroids in the U.S. for months, even years, to come.

It came at the close of a careful 18 month investigation and sting operation that focused on the alleged drug trafficking carried out by each of the eight companies through customization of their steroid products for the U.S. bodybuilding/ sports market in the American marketplace. Among those charged were: Animal Power, Brovel, Denkall, Loeffler, Quality-Vet, Pet’s Pharma, Tornel Laboratories and Syd Group; seven of which were based in Mexico City, Mexico. In all, 23 people were arrested in both California and Texas and face major jail time.

FBI and DEA officials state that this bust will have a enormous impact on the availability of anabolic steroids in the U.S., as these labs and manufacturers were responsible for 80% of what is illegally smuggled into this country each year. What made their presence and market share so galvanic? The internet.

All of the manufacturers named created professional looking business websites and masqueraded as legitimate veterinary pharmaceutical supply companies. As a result, they were able to sell anabolic steroids slated for “animal use” to a growing number of bodybuilders and strength athletes. Because the market activity and applications for anabolic steroids in the legitimate veterinary industry is small, at best, the flurry of activity and popularity of these sites was obvious, since veterinary drugs are a premium product for bodybuilders.

Communications via the Internet, along with parcel distributions, were the core of these companies’ operations. The websites showcased the products and offered email contact addresses in order to exchange prices and tracking numbers, and give ordering and payment instructions. Typically, financial transactions were primarily carried out via Western Union wire transfers, as well as bank transfers and credit card payments - the latter being the most idiotic of all.

This all went on for a long time, virtually unnoticed. That is, until about the last quarter of 2003, when attention to these sites came into sharp focus. Legitimate veterinary sites and catalogues cater to institutional market, and typically don’t do business online. Instead, products are described and veterinarians call in to establish accounts, send in a copy of their veterinary license, and receive product - in small amounts - as needed. Because the majority of these sites were actually taking orders online, referring people to actual U.S. distribution sites and providing ordering instructions so that anyone could get these drugs, the feds began to take notice and began building an iron-clad case.

But there was another reason this was such a successful and broad-sweeping bust is because of the laissez-faire attitude most bodybuilders and “vanity enthusiasts” have adopted over the years. AS users definitely do not see themselves as “illicit drug users”, let alone addicts or “street users”. It’s a suspension of disbelief that leaves the average person incredulous. Vanity and appearance, substitutes for a confirmation of function and normalcy.

And then there’s the lax attitude about open drug use but about the internet. The internet, after all, is this unreal realm of anonymous comments and faceless individuals with whom you converse, and a place where you can order virtually anything your mind’s eye can imagine. Why not steroids? You can order pot plants from Canada, so why not anabolic steroids for your next cycle? After all, you can be anyone you want to be online if you send in a cashier’s check and a fake name and address. There’s no need to announce who you are.

The only problem is, every computer has an IP address - an identifying mark that leads someone straight to you. Cyber centers somewhat mask this, but if someone wants to find you, they can and will.

The other dangerous aspect of the internet as it pertains to the availability is that it prompts loose talk. Go to any of the steroid-related boards online and start reading posts. Questions about availability, price, rampant use and side conversations about how to obtain them from someone on the board, occur on a daily basis. One only needs to engage in board surfing/ posting for about a month or so to become a “known and trusted entity”. “Hey bro…” many of the posts start out, “send me an email and I’ll hook you up”.

Would anyone in their right mind think to say this aloud to someone they barely knew inside the gym?

Never! As a result of this huge bust, consumers had their worst nightmare confirmed when The DEA announced that they have begun the arduous process of trying to locate over 2,000 plus U.S. based customers. The task is complicated by the fact that a lot of buyers use fake names and have packages sent to addresses other than their own. “We have agents all over the country trying to track down who all these people are,” DEA special agent Doug Coleman said. The DEA will attempt to track these buyers down through shipping records and email addresses. “If they’ve received packages through the mail we can absolutely charge them with a violation of federal law,” Coleman said. (Gulp).

Operation Gear Grinder, the name of the task force designated to bust this recent ring of steroid traffickers, is part of the Virtual Enforcement Initiative - a coordinated DEA effort to target illegal Internet drug trafficking. It was developed over a 21-month period as an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation that targeted the eight major steroid manufacturing companies named, along with their owners, and their trafficking associates. The effort was launched in April 2004 with Operation Cyber Chase and continued in September with Operation CYBERx. DEA’s cyber initiative acknowledges drug traffickers are embracing the use of 21st century technology to further distribution and create more widespread market share. Rest assured, this machine won’t stop until it’s busted a lot of people. (Double gulp).

Like any other consumer product, the internet has helped the AS black market grow by leaps and bounds. These eight companies alone generated $56 million in U.S. dollars within a year’s time. That’s not chump change. But this recent bust, while it is acknowledged as the largest in history, is by no means the only one that’s happened. Since 1991, when anabolic steroids were designated as controlled substances in the U.S., the Mexican black market has become a force to be reckoned with. An accessible point of entry for Americans seeking these drugs for personal use and distribution to others, until the bust, Mexico had become Public Enemy #1 in the AS game.

Other Steroid Busts

~ BALCO Labs, San Francisco - 42 count indictment naming four men, accusing them of distributing AS to top athletes. Meticulous and careful, they assigned code names to drugs, were careful about emails and distribution, but failed to watch their garbage. Appreciative notes from athletes, canceled checks, and empty pill sheets, were gleaned from the trash behind the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO, that is the center of the probe.

~ New York Mets reliever Felix Heredia, the 11th major league player suspended for AS, was suspended for 10 days last season.

~ New York man, Vladimir Ribartchouk, sentenced to 3 years in prison, for selling steroids in the Lincoln, Nebraska area

~ IFBB bodybuilders Milos Sarcev and Dennis James were accused of conspiracy to import anabolic steroids from Thailand in the spring of 2003

~ Part time Pennsylvania police officer, Brock Hendrickson, charged with buying steroids over the internet and then reselling them to an undercover officer. He obtained the drugs from Serbia in a package that contained over 800 tablets.

~ Canadian Valerio Moscariello was ordered to dismantle his internet website, “Juiceworld”, which sold performance enhancing drugs and GH. Charged with possession with intent to distribute steroids without a prescription, he was caught with business records, packaging materials for widespread distribution, and $16K in cash.

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