Steroid Drugs Found in a Private Home? ... Illegal Manufacturing and Sales Operators Arrested

Illegal Manufacture and Sale of 700 Million Won Worth of Drugs Using Installed Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Machines and Equipment
Risk of Serious Side Effects from Unauthorized Administration
MFDS Urges Immediate Disposal Instead of Use

A man in his 30s who illegally manufactured steroid drugs at home and sold them to bodybuilding athletes and others has been arrested.

On the 6th, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that Song Mo, who installed pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment in a home to illegally produce and sell steroid drugs, was arrested. Go Mo, who acted as a delivery agent, was sent to the prosecution without detention, and the proceeds of the crime will be recovered.

Source=MFDS

While investigating a case last November in which seven people, including employees of pharmaceutical wholesalers, illegally distributed prescription drugs, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety detected suspicious circumstances regarding Song, a purchaser of the illegally distributed drugs, and launched an investigation. These two cases were exclusively investigated by special judicial police officers (special judicial police) belonging to the Central Investigation Unit for Harmful Acts under the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

From May 2021 to last month, Song sold approximately 710 million won worth of self-manufactured steroid drugs and illegally obtained diuretics, erectile dysfunction treatments, and other drugs to a total of 2,218 people, including bodybuilding athletes, through Telegram and other means over 2 years and 8 months.

Song rented a home in Busan and installed manufacturing machines and equipment capable of mixing, subdividing, and packaging raw pharmaceutical materials to illegally manufacture and sell steroid drugs.

He directly manufactured and sold 10 types of injectable drugs after purchasing raw materials, and purchased 12 types of pills (tablets) in bulk, subdivided, and packaged them for sale. It was confirmed that Song imported raw materials directly from Chinese suppliers and mixed them with grape seed oil and other substances to produce the products.

To avoid detection, Song used burner phones and burner bank accounts during transactions. He also frequently changed warehouses for storing and shipping products and meticulously altered the sender and address information on postal items.

Three types of machines used for drug manufacturing, empty pharmaceutical bottles, hologram stickers, and other packaging materials, as well as steroid drugs and raw pharmaceutical materials worth approximately 700 million won, were all seized at the scene.

The seized steroid drugs are synthetic steroids that promote protein synthesis. If administered arbitrarily, they can destroy the immune system and cause serious side effects such as sexual dysfunction and heart disease, so their use is restricted without a doctor's prescription as prescription drugs.

These illegal steroid drugs are not produced under the strict manufacturing conditions of legitimate pharmaceuticals, so self-administration can cause risks such as bacterial infections. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety urges that even if such products have been purchased, they should never be used and must be disposed of immediately.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.