SVN Canada Owners Arrested for Selling Steroids at Sports Nutrition Store
October 20, 2008 by Millard Baker
The owners of the SVN Canada in North Vancouver, British Columbia were arrested for allegedly selling the anabolic steroid methyl-1-testosterone (M1T) to teenagers. The arrest comes less than a week after an employee of ‘Your Vitamin Store’ (YVS Victoria) in nearby Victoria, British Columbia was also arrested for selling M1T. Charges in both cases involved trafficking and possession of a controlled substance (anabolic steroids) (”North Van RCMP arrest nutrition shop owners for alleged steroid sales to teens,” October 20).
Const. Marlene Morton said “a substantial amount” of a bodybuilding drug called Methyl-1-Testosterone was seized from Lower Lonsdale area shop SVN Canada, following a year-long investigation.
The store’s owners, Joao Melo, 28, and Sylvie Tran, 26, of North Vancouver, have been charged with trafficking in a controlled substance and further charges are pending, Morton said.
Health Canada issued a warning in April 2006 advising all consumers that M1T was an illegal anabolic steroid. The recent steroid arrests may be the beginning of a crackdown on illicit performance enhancing drugs in advance of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
M1T was legally sold and marketed as a “prohormone” in the United States as an over-the-counter “dietary supplement” until the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 made it illegal on January 20, 2005.
