The matter was taken seriously as the existence of such trafficking “presents a major risk to the health of the population”, in the words of the prosecution.
Vast trafficking in anabolic steroids and growth hormones within several sports halls in the Ardennes and Meuse has been dismantled, the Verdun public prosecutor announced on Thursday.
Tuesday, a large-scale police operation was launched simultaneously in the Meuse, the Ardennes, in Moselle, in Meurthe-et-Moselle, in Bas-Rhin and in Ille-et-Vilaine, mobilizing more than 70 investigators, said Sophie Partouche in a press release.
It allowed the arrest and placement in police custody of eight people, who were mainly accused of organized gang trafficking in “substances, plants, preparations or medicines included on a list classifying them as poisonous substances”.
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Some of them also received remuneration for “chemistry coaching” and were prosecuted for illegally practicing medicine.
Seventeen other people were heard freely, said the magistrate.
Substances coming from China or India
The investigation, carried out by the Central Office for Combating Environmental and Public Health Attacks (OCLAESP) and the Verdun Research Brigade, revealed that two people domiciled in Sedan (Ardennes) and Stenay ( Meuse) “imported illicit products from India, China, or North America”.
The substances entered Europe in particular “from Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, in relatively large quantities”.
They were then passed on by making contact in the sports halls, via social networks or secure messaging.
Several hundred boxes of steroids seized
Originally, the Verdun public prosecutor's office had opened a preliminary investigation into trafficking in anabolic steroids and growth hormones within several sports halls in the Meuse and the Ardennes in August 2023.
The searches carried out led to the seizure of “several hundred boxes of anabolic steroids and growth hormones with a market value of 40,000 euros”, underlined Sophie Partouche.
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On Wednesday, the five main traffickers were summoned before the Verdun criminal court, said Sophie Partouche, while around ten other people, "involved at a lower level", were summoned before the prosecutor's delegate to the implementation of an alternative to prosecution.
“The existence of such trafficking presents a major risk for the health of the population,” recalled the magistrate, specifying that “the exact nature of the products illicitly imported and their quality are unverifiable.
The hearings and testimonies collected as part of this investigation are edifying from this point of view.
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This trafficking is also “particularly lucrative for criminals” due to the dependence created by these substances, classified as poisonous substances.