(UPDATE)

SCIOTO COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) -- A man has been arrested after authorities say he was distributing anabolic steroids.

Dec 17, 2016

Heath Steele, 33, of Portsmouth was indicted on multiple counts of drug trafficking and drug possession along with the illegal manufacture of drugs and the funding of drug trafficking.


An investigation by the Southern Ohio Task Force, along with Columbus Police and the FBI lead to the arrest and seizure of anabolic steroids and cash.


According to a release, a search warrant at Steele's residence was executed in October 2015.


Steele was arrested Wednesday and put in the Scioto County Jail.


Portsmouth Police Chief Robert Ware says the case is connected to a bigger investigation.


In October, the last of eight people responsible for distributing heroin and steroids in middle and southern Ohio was sentenced to federal prison. It was an investigation that began in March of 2015 and Ware says they left no stone unturned following those arrests.


"Sometimes when you turn over those stones, you find evidence of other crimes," said Ware. "It doesn't matter what uniform you wear, which level of government you work for, we're going to utilize all the resources at our disposal."



Dale King is the owner of PSKC Crossfit, a gym in Portsmouth. While heroin and steroids and abused for very different reasons, he says he's not very surprised to see the two drugs connected in this investigation.


"Everybody is looking for an escape," said King. "It's either pain pills or meth that are getting a majority of the attention."


He says steroids are also used as escape when people feel like they're not good enough. King says if people believed in themselves more, they could make the healthier choice by not using steroids.


"The real issue is it's just not safe," said King. "A lot of liver damage, a lot of internal damage, a lot of guys that just don't make it past 30, 35 from extreme and excessive steroid use."


"We're going to go after that as much as we are the street drugs because they all do harm," said Ware.


Ware says the investigation is ongoing with the possibility of more arrests.




Source\Video:
PHP Code:
http://www.wsaz.com/content/news/Portsmouth-man-arrested-for-trafficking-anabolic-steroids-406899845.html