London: A "prolific" smuggling ring led by the CEO of an India-based pharmaceutical company has been busted by the UK security forces, following an investigation across 26 countries over six years, officials said here on Thursday.
The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) said its investigation had identified around 42 tonnes of importations of illicit anabolic steroids into the UK and all major players in the smuggling operation have now been brought before the court.
The NCA directly linked Jacob Sporon-Fiedler, the 38-year-old CEO of India-based Alpha Pharma, to around 16 tonnes of the imports with an estimated value of around 12 million pounds.
Sporon-Fiedler worked with a network of UK-based fixers, including 65-year-old Gurjaipal Dhillon and 44-year-old Nathan Selcon. Together they were responsible for arranging dozens of unlicensed shipments of drugs from India into Europe, and then distributing them.
The illegally imported drugs - made by Alpha Pharma in India - were shipped using Dhillon's contacts. Once in the UK they would be distributed by Selcon to be sold to bodybuilders and fitness fanatics on the black market.
"This organised crime group was the most prolific of its kind ever uncovered, likely the biggest global players in the illicit anabolic steroid market," said NCA branch commander David Cunningham.
"They had the ability to move tonnes of steroids into Europe where they would be sold on the black market, making tens of millions of pounds in profit. At the heart of the network lay Jacob Sporon-Fiedler, the CEO of the pharmaceutical company manufacturing the product itself.
Text messages found on his phone indicated he wanted to ship around four tonnes a month into Europe, which demonstrates the scale of this enterprise," he said.
Cunningham said Sporon-Fiedler, as the ringleader, thought that by orchestrating the network from India he was "untouchable", but following his arrest he had no choice but to plead guilty.
