United States Attorney's Office Boise Pursues Misdemeanor Steroid Possession Charge on Small Dianabol Parcel United States Attorney's Office Boise Pursues Misdemeanor Steroid Possession Charge on Small Dianabol Parcel
Many bodybuilders believe that the feds won’t pursue a case against an individual who attempts to import a single package of anabolic steroids for their own personal use. They generally expect to receive a seizure notice from customs as the worst case scenario. In fact, many bodybuilders receive multiple seizure notices over the years without any further consequence. But don’t tell that to Drew Rasmussen.

The feds pulled out all the stops when the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Los Angeles inspected and intercepted a small package containing raw steroid powder sent from China that was addressed to Rasmussen’s apartment in Boise, Idaho on August 25, 2016. Rather than confiscate the steroids and send a seizure notice to Rasmussen, Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents worked with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) to arrange a controlled delivery at the Idaho man’s residence on September 1, 2016.

When Rasmussen signed and accepted the parcel containing steroids, police executed a search warrant on his apartment. Federal agents found nothing in his apartment to suggest anything other than personal use. There was no incriminating evidence to suggest that he operated any type of clandestine underground laboratory (UGL) to manufacture and distribute steroids. There were no computers or laptops with customers orders or customer lists. The only evidence they had against him was the 397 grams of methandienone or methandrostenolone (Dianabol) that just arrived in the package from China.

Rafael Gonzalez, Jr., the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Idaho, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Lou, decided to make an example out of Rasmussen even though he didn’t appear to be any type of local or Internet steroid dealer. The federal prosecutors originally charged Rasmussen with one count of unlawful felony possession of methandrostenolone according to the criminal charging information court documents.

It is true that 397 grams of Dianabol steroid powder clearly represents much more than a personal supply even though it can easily fit inside a relatively small parcel. That amount of Dianabol powder would permit Rasmussen to use a modest daily dosage of 50 milligrams of Dianabol for over 20 years. Then again, the feds found no additional evidence to suggest he was trafficking steroids.

Ultimately, the felony possession charges were reduced. Rasmussen pleaded guilty to one count of Class A misdemeanor possession of anabolic steroids (methandrostenolone) on March 10, 2017. Rasmussen admitted to researching steroids online and placing an order over the Internet from a Chinese powder source. Curiously, federal prosecutors were careful to note that Rasmussen used his Apple MacBook to purchase steroids and used his Apple iPhone to track the shipment status via the USPS website.

After pleading guilty, Rasmussen still faced a maximum of one year in prison and a maximum of $100,000 in fines. Fortunately for him, U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Wagahoff Dale accepted the presentencing report from prosecutors and sentenced Rasmussen to only two years probation. She even waived the interest requirement on a $1000 fine because Rasmussen didn’t have the ability to pay the interest.

There are a few take home lesson from the Rasmussen case. The first is that there are far worse consequences than a seizure notice if customs intercepts a parcel containing steroids. Secondly, federal prosecutors will most definitely prosecute misdemeanor steroid possession cases. And finally, individual steroid users should carefully consider the consequences of ordering any quantity of steroid powder for personal use; while a couple hundred grams is incredibly cheap and doesn’t seem like that much, prosecutors could still interpret it as intent to distribute even though it was really intended as a personal supply. Prosecutors will then make you feel grateful that they are only pursuing a possession charge against you.