Written by:
MELISSA VARGAS
April 25, 2008
In underground labs, young and not-so-young dealers take steroid concentrates bought online, guess the dosage, and sloppily cut the drugs and other body enhancers with other substances. Then they package and sell the mixture to budding athletes in gyms, police say.
The result can magnify the dangerous side effects of illegal steroid use, and users may be unknowingly injecting themselves with other drugs.
"It's a subculture," said a Grapevine detective who has worked undercover to bust such labs and dealers for about three years. "It's dangerous ... and it's really about the money. If you put in $2,000 for the materials, you can make about $6,000 pretty quick."
The clandestine labs are usually a kitchen, a basement or even a garage equipped with a few simple utensils.
Two people -- including a 17-year-old -- were arrested by Grapevine police this month on suspicion of making and selling the drugs. In the past year, the Drug Enforcement Administration shut down 56 underground labs in the U.S., including a major lab in Mansfield and two in Dallas, said Rusty Payne, a DEA spokesman based in Washington, D.C.
"The Internet has made it difficult to temper the growth," he said. "We have high-tech tools, but it's so big and so spread out and so difficult to get the criminal behind the Web page."
Until three years ago, Mexico was the major supplier of illegal steroids to the U.S., Payne said. After the DEA infiltrated the underground Mexican steroid market, manufacturers in China moved in to fill the void, he said. They market the drugs online and sell cheaply to direct buyers or to resellers, Payne said.
The companies in China send buyers a conversion kit, which instructs them on how to convert the powder into an injectable liquid.
Late last year, the Chinese government agreed to help the U.S. stop the illegal steroid businesses in China. "We will have to deal with this for a long time, but we are making big progress," Payne said.
The Grapevine detective, who is not being named to protect future investigations, recently helped nab two suspected steroid dealers.
The arrests came after a two-month investigation prompted by a tip, Grapevine police Lt. Todd Dearing said. Matthew Wong, 17, of Grapevine was arrested April 10 on suspicion of possession of controlled substances and dangerous drugs and on suspicion of delivery of controlled substances. The charges range from state jail felonies to second-degree felonies, Dearing said. Wong remained in the Tarrant County Jail on Tuesday with bail set at $26,000.
Police say Wong sold an undercover officer steroids numerous times. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Wong most recently met the undercover officer on Feb. 21 in a restaurant parking lot, where the officer bought 21.8 grams of Oxymetholone, a strong steroid, and 19.6 grams of testosterone from Wong for $310.
Averil Cavazos, 26, of Keller was also arrested April 10 on suspicion of four counts of delivering and manufacturing. Cavazos was soon released after posting $9,163 bail.
"The Drug Enforcement Administration and Justice Department says anytime you modify a drug it's actually manufacturing," said Herschel Tebay, commander of the Tarrant County Narcotics Unit. "It's a lab anytime you take powder and modify into an injectable."
Police believe the men were diluting and repackaging steroids and a prescription weight-loss drug in various dosages. An overdose of the weight-loss drug could induce coma, the Grapevine detective said.
The amounts seized from Wong's and Cavazos' vehicles were considered to be dealer quantities, police said. Detectives believe that the men had been operating for months; police are working with several other state police agencies to determine how the men got their drugs.
It is illegal to possess or use steroids without a valid prescription or to distribute them.
"They are ruining sports, tainting accomplishments, and people are getting hurt and dying because of this stuff," Payne said.
Police say underground labs have been popping up around the country because turning the powder into liquid or pills is easier and more profitable than illegally obtaining and selling pharmaceutical-grade steroids.
Some dealers will mislead buyers, saying they're providing pharmaceutical-grade steroids in vials left unlabeled with the claim that it will keep users out of trouble if the drugs are discovered during traffic stops, the detective said.
However, police often confiscate substances they suspect to be illegal drugs during traffic stops and test them to be sure, the detective said.
Many teens arrested on suspicion of steroid possession acknowledge that they are high school track runners and baseball players who are looking for quick results, the detective said.
"There is a craze. Get bigger and get stronger," the detective said. "It isn't just football players anymore."
99: Estimated percentage of illegal steroids in the world today that originated in China.
56: Underground labs across the U.S. shut down last year as part of the DEA's Operation Raw Deal.
40: Companies in China that own huge factories that make the raw, testosterone-based powder and human growth hormone illegally marketed online and sold cheaply to direct buyers or to resellers.
