Online sales - Customs investigators strike a blow against illegal doping store
Customs investigators in Essen and Düsseldorf have cracked down on an illegal online store for doping agents with searches and an arrest. The investigators seized around 630,000 tablets, 32,000 ampoules ready for sale as well as 13,000 pieces of prescription growth hormones and around 1 kilogram of doping powder, as the Essen customs investigation office announced on Wednesday about last Thursday's operation. The seized preparations are worth more than one million euros.
A 38-year-old man from the Düsseldorf area was arrested and is in custody. He is accused of distributing various doping preparations and prescription drugs that are not authorized in Germany via the Internet throughout Europe. He is also alleged to have traded in antidepressants, insulin and the so-called slimming injection. According to the current state of the investigation, the medicines were sent in simple parcels and paid for with cryptocurrencies. Investigators believe that more than 700 parcels were sent between February and July 2023.
According to the investigators, a 33-year-old woman from Essen is also suspected of having received parcels containing doping substances from Lithuania, Latvia and Poland for the 38-year-old as a front woman. In addition to the drugs, other evidence such as packages ready for shipment, packaging material and 400,000 euros in cash and cryptocurrency were also secured during the searches. The investigation is ongoing.
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The suspect's searches included doping-related keywords, suggesting he was actively seeking information about prohibited substances. The operation, which took place in North Rhine-Westphalia's Düsseldorf and Essen, has disrupted a significant source of doping agents being illegally distributed across Europe. The alleged criminality extends beyond doping agents, as the man is also accused of trading antidepressants, insulin, and slimming injections.
Source: www.stern.de
