Edmonton steroid bust largest in Canadian history
Thursday, October 02, 2014
Inside a west-end warehouse, ALERT Insp. Darcy Strang stands amongst a variety of industrial machines and tables filled with bags of colourful pills. Little vials of a clear liquids sit in a few other containers, along with multiple bags of powder.
It's all part of a $9.3-million seizure of illegal steroids -- the largest of its kind by a Canadian police agency. Previously, the largest steroid bust in Canada was in December 2008 when more than 400,000 tablets were found in a home just north of Montreal.
In the Edmonton bust last week, police seized over 360,000 pills, 10,000 vials and more than three dozen types of chemical precursors and additives. The drugs were being sold nation-wide.
"This was a highly sophisticated underground steroid manufacturing and distribution operation," said Strang, noting the operation is one of the most prominent steroid manufacturers in Alberta.
"The individuals are allegedly responsible for the large illegal underground steroid distribution network that spans across Canada and these investigators have literally cut the head off the snake."
In May 2014, police began investigating their main target, a 40-year-old Edmonton man -- which eventually led to a search of three homes and two storage lockers. Two of the homes were operating as manufacturing labs. One of them was just meters away from Dr. Donald Massey elementary junior high school in northeast Edmonton.
Inside that home, police found a full-blown steroids manufacturing lab that contained commercial grade equipment, such as a pill press, powder mixer, two fume hoods, spectrometer, glassware and beakers, and a large amount of packing materials. At one of the storage lockers, investigators found nearly 100 barrels of unknown chemical substances. Strang said a lot of the bulk chemicals came from China.
The manufacturers used two brand names -- Underground Steroid Pharmaceuticals (USP) and Ikonic -- names Strang said would be familiar to anybody using steroids locally and across Canada. People associated with the operation were distributing the drugs themselves, added Strang, who also believes they were likely being sold on the Internet.
"With the volume of the product here, this is not the beginning of the operation. I would say we caught it in the middle or it's been going on for a while," said Strang, noting the drugs can cause a host of severe, lasting health consequences, especially when they are manufactured underground in the absence of health regulations.
Who's using the drugs can range from professional athletes and body builders to kids that just want to be larger.
"Users need to know what exactly is entering their bodies. There are concerns regarding the purity of these drugs and the possible contamination of other chemicals," Strang said.
Police say their main target manufactured the illegal steroids and distributed them as far away as Newfoundland. The man is known to police, with convictions in B.C. for drug trafficking offences related to cocaine and firearms charges. He was also involved in the body building scene.
Kirk Goodkey and three associates -- Parmjit Brar, 40, Jordan Quiring, 27, and Alexandria Edwards, 27 -- each face charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking and proceeds of crime. More charges are being contemplated, including organized crime, as the investigation continues.
Police are also exploring civil forfeiture options. Four high-end vehicles were seized along with $88,000 in cash.
Items seized include:
• a pill press;
• powder mixer;
• two fume hoods;
• spectrometer;
• glassware and beakers;
• and large amount of packaging materials.
Drugs seized include:
• 365,268 tablets;
• 10,583 vials;
• 124 kilograms of raw steroid powders;
• 1,250 kilograms of various raw powders;
• 30 litres of liquid drug precursors.
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The use of steroids in the body building world isn't exactly a secret.
Walk into a gym known for body building and you're likely to find someone that can sell you something in a matter of minutes, according to a local personal trainer.
"A couple gyms I have walked into they ask, how long have you been working out and then what are you on?" said Chris Tse, trainer and co-owner of Blitz Conditioning. "It's really not that hard to find."
Tse has never tried steroids, but took a stab at body building a few years ago. He competed at the national level where athletes are required to remain clean for five to 10 years. Other associations, he said, go untested, often making steroid use rampant.
In a world where athletes are judged on their physique, Tse said the temptation to use performance enhancers is high.
"It's not like any other sport where most of your technique can come from hours of training. It really comes down to how you look and how people perceive you," said Tse. "Everyone wants to find a way as quickly as you possibly can (to look good) and that runs some big difficulties. It's just one of those things that provides the results you're looking for in half the amount of time."
Police in Edmonton recently seized a record-breaking amount of illegal steroids, worth an estimated $9.3 million.
On Thursday, city police Insp. Darcy Strang of the Alberta Law Enforcement Responce Team (ALERT) talked about the dangers of steroid use. The drugs can boost confidence and strength, leading abusers to overlook the potential and serious long-term damage they can cause, such as early heart attacks, strokes, liver tumours, kidney failure and some psychiatric problems.
"While anabolic steroids can enhance certain types of performance, they are dangerous drugs when used inappropriately and can cause a host of severe, long lasting and in some cases irreversible health consequences," said Strang.
"What we have here is somebody making this literally in his house...and we really don't know what's in them."
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