News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 26, 2008
Contact: Thomas E. Murphy
(314) 538-4660
Former Columbia, Missouri Man Pleads Guilty to
Conspiracy to Distribute Steroids
AUG 26 --JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – John F. Wood, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former Columbia, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to participating in a conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids and to a money-laundering conspiracy. Today’s conviction is the result of an international investigation targeting the illegal manufacturing and trafficking of anabolic steroids and its raw materials, mainly from China.
Bryan Greggory WILSON, 39, of Kansas City, Mo., formerly of Columbia, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge William A. Knox this morning to the charges contained in a March 7, 2008, superseding indictment.
This case is the result of Operation Raw Deal, the largest steroid enforcement action in U.S. history. The related investigation in the Western District of Missouri is called Operation Juice Box. The international operation is a four-prong strategy focusing on raw material manufacturers and suppliers in China and other countries; underground anabolic laboratories in the United States, Canada and Mexico; numerous U.S.-based websites distributing materials, or conversion kits, necessary to convert raw steroid powders into finished product; and Internet bodybuilding discussion boards that are the catalysts for individuals to learn how to illicitly use, locate and discreetly purchase performance-enhancing drugs, including anabolic steroids.
Wilson admitted that he participated in a conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids from as early as 2003 to Sept. 15, 2007. He also pleaded guilty to making financial transactions involving the proceeds of that unlawful activity, with the intent to promote that unlawful activity.
Wilson was arrested on Sept. 15, 2007, when he picked up a package from China containing approximately one kilogram of raw steroid powder at the Columbia, Mo., UPS Store. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant of his residence in Kansas City and found numerous items consistent with the manufacture and/or conversion of anabolic steroids. Officers found two large pill presses as well as other laboratory equipment and what appeared to be finished product. The lab analysis from the DEA laboratory showed the following approximate amounts of anabolic steroids: 499.5 grams of Oxymetholone; 50.4 grams of Testosterone Propionate; 262.2 grams of Oxymetholone; 536.0 grams of Methandrostenolone; 445.6 grams of Testosterone Cypionate; 997.8 grams of Test! osterone Enanthate; and 994.0 grams of Nandrolone Decanoate. They seized approximately $60,000 from Wilson’s residence and bank accounts.
DEA agents in California identified Wilson as an underground lab operator in February 2007. This information was developed from an international investigation into the illegal exportation of anabolic steroids from the People’s Republic of China. DEA agents in Missouri identified several Internet steroid message boards, which provide an arena to buy and distribute steroids. Wilson ordered the chemicals and steroid powders via the Internet, converted the raw steroid powder to pill and liquid form, and utilized th! e U.S. Postal Service and other package delivery service providers to acquire and distribute the steroids throughout the country.
Wilson caused multiple Western Union wire transfers totaling $73,000 to be made as payment for anabolic steroids shipped from the Peoples Republic of China. He deposited, or caused to be deposited, at least $441,405 in proceeds from the sale of anabolic steroids into bank accounts.
Under federal statutes, Wilson is subject to a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $1 million. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Miller. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Columbia, Mo., Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and MUSTANG (the Mid-Missouri United Strike Team and Narcotics Group).