The Iron-Garfield Counties Narcotics Task Force has compared anabolic steroid underground labs (”UGLs”) to dangerous and hazardous methamphetamine labs (”meth labs”). Task force officer Melissa Fritz-Fuller made the comparison when announcing the arrest of Mark Sherratt of Liquipharm Labs. Sherratt allegedly manufactured steroids from raw powders in a clandestine laboratory at his home; Liquipharm steroids and ancillary drugs were reportedly sold directly from his Liberty Lending office in Cedar City, Utah as well as extensively on the Internet.
The dangers association with meth labs are well-known and include risk of contamination with hazardous and toxic chemicals and increased risk of fire and/or explosion. The comparison with UGLs erroneously suggests that the risk of manufacturing underground anabolic steroids is comparable to methamphetamine “cooking” (”Narcotic task force arrest businessman,” July 16).
The lab was similar to one used to make methamphetamines, Fritz-Fuller said, and officers found hazardous powders imported from China to make the steroids, as well as glassware, bottles and labeling.
The powders, testosterone and anabolic steroids found are controlled substances, which can be prosecuted both locally and federally, Fritz-Fuller added.
Law enforcement has unfairly demonized anabolic steroids by making comparisons between anabolic steroid users and methamphetamine/cocaine users. They have tried to convince the general public and the media that anabolic steroids are just as harmful as methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin; similarly, they allege that steroid users represent a dangerous threat to society comparable to users of narcotic drugs.
The credibility of federal and state law enforcement agencies who try to equate anabolic steroids with methamphetamines and narcotic drugs continues to suffer.
Houston DEA Special Agent Zoran Yankovich promotes anti-steroid propaganda with statements such as: “Those arrests today are no different than traditional drug dealers peddling their poison -methamphetamines and cocaine and heroin – on the street corner.”
Similarly, the United States Customs and Border Patrol encourages the suspension of disbelief to justify the steroid witch-hunt, “Steroids are treated like any other illegal drug that threatens the American public – like all illegal narcotics, their sale and possession represent critical links in a larger criminal process, one that funds terrorism, death, and addiction around the world.” Read more
Kenneth Hebert and his common-law wife Leticia Zamora, owners of TexStar Labs and Phalco Labs, faced United States District Judge David Hittner for sentencing on January 28, 2009. Hebert was senteced to four years imprisonment (or double the term of imprisonment advocated by prosecutors) whereas Zamora withdrew her guilty plea after Judge Hittner denied her probation deal with the government (”Pearland man gets prison for at-home steroid factory,” January 28).
A Pearland man who ran a major anabolic steroid factory in his house was sentenced to four years in federal prison on Wednesday, but his wife withdrew her guilty plea and opted to go to trial.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced Kenneth Hebert to about twice what prosecutor Peter Mason had suggested for distributing the performance-enhancing drug, made of ingredients from China.
Hebert and Zamora both pleaded guilty to their respective roles in the illegal operation of a large-scale underground anabolic steroid laboratory out of their Houston-area home. The couple manufactured raw steroid powder into oral and injectable steroid products that were distributed under the TexStar Labs and Phalco Labs label. The steroid case represented one of the largest UGL steroid busts resulting from Operation Raw Deal.
The couple decided to spend their available funds to hire an attorney from the Montalvo Law Firm to represent Leticia Zamora and provide her with the best opportunity to avoid prison time so that she could raise the couple’s two young children, ages five and seven; Kenneth Hebert was represented by a federal public defender.
President Barrack Obama may think the federal investigations into anabolic steroids should not be a top priority for the government, but the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) strongly disagrees. The DEA emphasized that steroids are “extremely dangerous” and respresent a significant threat to public health during a recent press briefing involving the sentencing of Operation Raw Deal defendants (”Pearland couple to be sentenced for operating major steroid pill mill,” January 27).
“It’s not just a drug that can be taken lightly,” explained DEA Special Agent Violet Szeleczky. “It’s something that we still consider extremely dangerous to the public and we’re going to investigate it to its fullest, just as if it were heroin, cocaine or marijuana.”
DEA Special Agent Violet Szeleczky promised to treat anabolic steroid cases no differently than cocaine or heroin cases when it comes to allocating agency investigative resources. Agent Szeleczky made these comments in relation to the sentencing of one of the largest underground labs (UGLs) busted during Operation Raw Deal.
The Intermunicipal Police of Thérèse-De Blainville publicly announced the completion of its investigation into the distribution of Syrus Labs, a major Canadian underground lab (UGL) specializing in anabolic steroids. The announcement comes over five months after the steroid bust presumably to allow time for the laboratory at INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier to perform chemical analysis on the seized drugs.
Frédéric Vigeant was arrested and faces multiple charges related to the production, counterfeiting and possession of anabolic steroids and controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking, and a charge related to illegal firearms possession (”Pharmacie clandestine démantelée,” December 10).
Frédéric Vigeant was busted on July 25, 2008 when police responded to a domestic disturbance at the home of Frédéric Vigeant in an affluent neighborhood in Sainte-Thérèse, a suburb north of Montreal, during which they observed significant quantities of tablets and a couple of cannabis plants in plainview. Acting on this information, law enforcement obtained a search warrant and searched and seized substantial quantities of anabolic steroids and ancillary drugs labelled under the Syrus Labs brand as well as recreational drugs (marijuana and amphetamines) stored in the basement of the residence Read more
Most bodybuilders who use anabolic steroids manufactured by underground labs (UGLs) in the United States are primarily concerned with whether or not the product is accurately dosed with the anabolic steroid listed on the label. Some more health conscious steroid users are also concerned about potential health risks arising from the contamination of UGL steroid products with bateria and/or heavy metals. Fortunately, bacterial contamination is not a common problem since most UGLs effectively sterilize the product by adding ingredients such as benzyl alcohol, etc. However, few people have actually considered the potential toxicity of using anabolic steroids contaminated with heavy metals. Given that most of the steroid powder is illicitly imported from China, the possibility of contamination with lead, tin, mercury, arsenic, etc. is a real possibility.
Jesse Abundiz aka Wickedone, the owner of Morning Star Labs, was arrested on March 1, 2008 and charged with possession with intent to distribute 9,468,.24 grams of anabolic steroids. Abundiz purchased medical grade laboratory equipment to set up an underground steroid lab in his mother’s Las Vegas home.
The investigation began 19 months ago when the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol notified the FBI and DEA that Abundiz was using a post office box in Sacramento to receive anabolic steroid powders from China. In December 2007, a search warrant was executed on his mother’s home where the operational underground lab was discovered.
At the residence, investigators apparently found an “operational underground steroid lab” containing controlled substances and lab equipment with a street value of roughly $1 million, the FBI said.
Vials, syringes, beakers, medical-grade vacuum pumps, butte stoppers, label makers and labels reading “Morning StarLabs” reportedly were recovered.
About 400,000 dosage units, or roughly 11 kilograms of controlled substances that included anabolic steroid powders, were recovered at the residence, according to the FBI.
It is unclear whether his mother will be charged or if additional conspiracy charges will be added.
Kenneth Herbert, one of the principals behind the anabolic steroid underground labs TexStar Labs, Phalco Labs and Nassau Pharmaceuticals, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids and has agreed to cooperate with federal authorities. In exchange, prosecutors will drop 28 other counts listed in the federal indictment including money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Kenneth Herbert and his common law wife were arrested in September 2007 as part of Operation Raw Deal. Another steroid distributor who was arrested on March 28, 2007 in a related investigation provided information to the DEA that led to crackdown on the UGL.
Authorities claim they operated one of the largest underground labs (UGL) in the country. Court records show the following items were seized from Herbert’s residence:
Four pill/tablet presses, approximately eight kilograms of raw steroid powders, over 100,000 steroid pill/tablets, a clandestine steroids laboratory, and a large volume of glassware, vials, and bottling supplies. The items seized were consistent with a large scal steroids laboratory capable of producing at least 50,000 tablets per hour.
Kenneth Herbert is scheduled for sentencing on May 1, 2008. He faces up to 5 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000. Prosecutors will recommend sentencing at the low end of federal guidelines assuming the Herbert provides “substantial assistance” in agreeing to “cooperate, debrief and, if necessary, testify.”
