More than 2000 vials of a banned steroid have been found by Customs officials inside a parcel sent to Sydney from Thailand.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the steroid seizure by customs in February has resulted in ongoing steroid busts in Sydney Australia (”Steroids found in Thai parcel: customs,” April 1).
Customs officers at Australia Post’s Gateway Facility in Sydney found the 2,378 ampoules of Sustanon 250, Stanozol and Nandrolone in plastic bags after examining a parcel from Thailand said to contain glass figures…
After finding the drugs in the mail on February 19, Customs investigators executed search warrants on premises in south-western Sydney last Friday and seized evidentiary material.
Investigations into the major steroid seizure are continuing.
Customs national manager for investigations, Richard Janezcko, said the agency was “continuing to detect and investigate increased attempts to smuggle prohibited and restricted performance enhancing drugs into Australia”.
Australia’s war on steroids is one of the most aggressive in the world, perhaps even more draconian than the efforts by the United States.
Brian Wainstein, one of the owners of GenXXL, served 4 months in prison for the unlawful possession, sale, and distribution of anabolic steroids. Wainstein served only four months out of a 2 year suspended sentence.
Brian Wainstein (42) - a South African national with an address at Bank Lodge, Knockraheen, Roundwood in Co Wicklow - received the orders for the banned drugs by e-mail from customers all over the world, including the USA.
Aaaah…yes. Brilliant. Put your real public address and attach it to a fucking site where you are breaking your own countries law plus international law. Brilliant. Better yet, have your screen name be “England” or something brilliant like that, and then sell steroids on a public website from “England”.
By marketing anabolic steroids on his website GenXXL.com under the GenXXL Gear brand, he publicly provided authorities with the physical location where the anabolic steroids were stored and shipped.
He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to nine charges arising out of the unlawful possession sale and distribution of the illicit substances at Croswaithe Park South, Dun Laoghaire in 2003.
The address from which Wainstein distributed anabolic steroids was the same as the publicly published address listed online:
27 Crossthwaite Park West
Dunloaghaire, Co Dublin
This highlights the lack of sophistication (among other things) that exists in the underground labs that produce anabolic steroids. Consumers of steroids produced by underground labs must not only be concerned by the quality control issues arising from amateur UGLs but also the legal risks associated with illicitly buying from steroid dealers who are unable to maintain minimum standards of discretion for their own operations much less their customers.
Axio Labs has been publicly linked to Brian Wainstein and GenXXL.com for some time, both before and after Wainstein was busted. Recently, Axio Labs has also stopped shipping anabolic steroids to the United States; long claiming to be the “next British Dragon,” Axio Labs now no longer wants to be associated with British Dragon after the steroid bust in Thailand and the co-founder’s extradition to the United States. There has been a lot of anxiety about the status of Axio Labs after the recent events involving the British Dragon bust. Axio Labs alleged association with Brian Wainstein only heightens that anxiety.
Bottom line - while it is never a good idea to illegally import anabolic steroids into the United States, it is a particularly bad time now.
Two of the best-known and most successful internet sources of anabolic steroids have been arrested at a Pattaya seaside resort in Thailand as part of an international sting operation involving the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). They will be extradited to the United States on “charges of using the Internet to illegally export steroids to the United States” (”Two Britons arrested in Thailand after sting operation: police,” March 21)
Police gave the names of the two detained men as Ashly Vincent Livingston, 45, and Edwin Richard Crawly, 44. They were arrested in a sting operation involving US anti-drug agents, police said.
Anthony Roberts called me to identity Edwin Richard Crawly as one of the founders of British Dragon and to identify Ashly Vincent Livingston as Redicat. Anthony broke the story on his blog.
Thai authorities have told the media that the two Britons did not do anything illegal in Thailand. Consequently, they face no charges in Thailand.
Livingston and Crawly set up an online store to sell steroids to customers in the United States. Steroids are legal in Thailand but are a controlled substance in the US.
The police later arrested Mr.Edwin Richard Crawley (44) a British national who lives in the house, which he had used as the centre of operations for his business. According to the police report, Mr. Edwin Richard Crawley originally opened a company called” Nutri Med. Co. Ltd.” registered as an import-export company…
Another police team also searched a single house opposite and found Mr. Graisorn Tongrak (31) the son- in-law of Mr.Edwin Richard Crawley, who was looking after the house for his father- in-law…
After that, the police took both suspects to search another building in the same soi, registered as a company called” Vincent Centre Service Co. Ltd. operating a postal and utility bill payment service. Here, however, police found several empty bags of drugs, called “British Dragon” and 2,500 copies of steroid instruction sheets.
The D.E.A. officers took the steroids away for evidence. They also searched a warehouse behind the Nutri Med. company office, where they found and confiscated two machines used to pack steroids and also seized two land deed papers relating to the two houses, a Toyota car, a BMW R1200 RT motorbike, and 13 bank books which contained millions of baht; in total property worth about Bt 20 million.
A third group of police later arrested Mr.Ashley Vincent Livingston (45) British, and Mrs. Jirawan Livingston(38) , his wife, living at a house in Moo. 10, Soi Kow Noi, Pattaya Hill 1. According to the information police had received, they all belonged to the same gang, whose big boss was Edwin Richard Crawley. At this house, the police did not find any evidence, but seized a land deed paper, a Honda and a Toyota car, jewellery, Bt 100,000 in cash, and six bank books, which had many tens of millions of baht in the accounts. Police Major General, Amaresrit Wattanawiboon, revealed that Thai police were originally notified by the D.E.A. that they had intercepted steroids, which had been delivered to America in plain envelopes and on investigation, discovered that the biggest operation was in Pattaya . Mr. Edwin (the big boss) had been importing steroids from China through the Internet and then forwarding them to USA and Europe. On receipt, customers would send money to his account in Thailand. Some of the goods were sent to Pattaya and repacked in dolls or fruit, to be sent to Europe by parcel or in plain envelopes. Mr. Ashley had been worked with Mr. Edwin as his assistant, finding customers for him. This operation had been running since 1999. It made him a millionaire, being able to afford to buy property in Pattaya worth Bt 20 million.
The anabolic steroid black market is on the verge of being driven completely underground meaning steroids will likely travel same channels as black market narcotics. Obviously, this makes the use of black market androgens more dangerous than ever.
James Edward Moore, Jr., was indicted for importation of anabolic steroids and possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids on February 27, 2008. Moore admitted to ordering steroids from IP China sending money via Western Union on at least six occasions to Zhijum He of China. The charges listed in Moore’s indictment were based on thousands of vials and ampules of steroids and thousands of steroid tablets found at Moore’s residence, storage lockers, and three intercepted packages linked to Moore.
The investigation of Moore began in late August 2007 when the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) opened an incoming package addressed to Jimmy Moore, Jr.; the steroid shipment was sent via International Express Mail by Sany Zeng of Chungsa, Hunan (China).
A second incoming package from China on October 22, 2007 was examined by federal authorities under an anticipatory search warrant. This International Express Mail shipment contained various anabolic steroids and growth hormone, including products labelled Test 400, British Dragon Trenabol Depot, Primobolan QV 100, Teston QV 200, and HGH marked Getropin 10IU Recombinant Human Growth Hormone.
The third incoming package was ordered from AlinShop and shipped by Gore Elena from the Moldova Republic. It contained eight 5mL sachets containing testosterone cypionate and eight sachets containing testosterone enanthate. All sachets were marked “Aromathekaypoil.”
Moore waived his Miranda Rights and told investigators he sold the anabolic steroids primarily to bodybuilders at the Santa Cruz Gold’s Gym and used them for personal medical problems e.g. “to fix his hormone levels.” He reported that he was disabled due to cardiomyopathy and kidney problems. Due to the sheer quantity of anabolic steroids discovered during the steroid bust, the Gold’s Gym in Santa Cruz has the most “jacked” bodybuilders in the country.
Moore resided at a house for recovering drug and alcohol addicts where he was manager and caretaker of the facility.
