SouthShoreNow.ca

Investigators confirm Bridgewater bust largest ever for region

By LISA BROWN

 BRIDGEWATER - It's an unassuming house on a quiet Bridgewater street, but police allege the owner's illegal drug business was anything but simple.

 False names, fake addresses, multiple postal outlets and courier companies, and imported packages from China were all part of the anabolic steroid operation officials say 38-year-old Kevin Wayne Tanner was running at 46 Elm Street for almost two years.

 Details of the case against Mr. Tanner were unveiled March 7 in Halifax as the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Bridgewater Police officially announced the bust they'd made in January. They displayed the spoils of their search, including $400,000 worth of steroids, raw hormone products, lab equipment and $46,000 in cash.

 Dubbed Operation Scott Free after one of the aliases officials allege Mr. Tanner used, it is the biggest anabolic steroid bust in the region's history.

 "Certainly for our area, I find it a very significant seizure and operation that he had going," CBSA lead investigator Blair MacDonald said.

 It began in April 2005 when officers conducting routine inspections discovered packages of raw steroid hormones shipped from China. The find was referred to the agency's criminal investigations unit, which then involved Bridgewater Police as packages were traced to the town.

 Investigators believe the operation began at least a few months before they first intercepted the raw hormones. The charges allege January 2005.

 Mr. MacDonald admitted they didn't suspect how big the operation was at the outset.

 "We had no appreciation of the scope or the severity of what this individual was doing back in April. Then there was a period when we couldn't track any more shipments. We didn't see that he was getting any more in," the lead investigator said.

 "We started looking and looking and we found out he'd switched courier companies and switched names," Mr. MacDonald added. "He took a lot of steps, using a lot of fictitious names, switching courier companies, switching the addresses the products were to go to."

 Investigators say some shipments went to 46 Elm Street, but others were delivered to various postal outlets. Parcels were shipped using false names and fake addresses so the steroids could not be traced if they were intercepted.

 When officials searched the storey-and-a-half home January 22, they found an upstairs bedroom converted into a lab, 16 types of anabolic steroids in injectable liquid form that were sold in vials and five types of anabolic steroids in pill form. They also allege that Mr. Tanner was producing four other drugs to counteract the side effects of steroid use, including Viagra and Cialis.

 The investigation is ongoing, but officials say so far they've traced sales to between 200 and 300 customers, primarily in Canada, but also in the United States. They're still trying to determine if any customers were buying in larger quantities for resale.

 Regardless, they say, the bust has taken potentially dangerous products from the hands of those who would use them.

Det./Cst. Trevor Mitchell of the Bridgewater Police holds a bag of empty gel caps which was among the booty officials seized from a Bridgewater home in January. Bottles of 100 capsules of anabolic steroids and fake prescription drugs used to counteract their side effects were allegedly being sold over the internet for between $75 and $150. Lisa Brown photo

 "A significant seizure such as this means that tens of thousands of single doses of these illegal and dangerous drugs will not be produced and further distributed across this country," Andrew LeFrank, director of enforcement and intelligence for the CBSA, said last week.

 Officials say Mr. Tanner did not have a web site, but was promoting the sales of his products - under the name Illusion Laboratories - in internet chat rooms and on message boards.

 "We're still working with other police agencies and our partners trying to track down who they were going to and the extent of it," Mr. MacDonald said.

 Det./Cst. Trevor Mitchell with the Bridgewater Police said they've found no evidence to suggest any of the illegal products were being sold locally.

 "Our investigation so far says no. It's been basically all out of province," he said.

 Investigators say Mr. Tanner has no background in chemistry and no criminal record. They believe he learned how to process the steroids over the internet. He'd been working at Buck's Home Building Centre as a salesperson until he resigned following his arrest.

 Chief Brent Crowhurst indicated he has no reason to believe anyone else in this area is involved in similar activity.

 "If you have high-speed internet, it doesn't matter if you're in Barrington or on Barrington Street. It really has no geographic boundary. His market obviously was throughout North America. Whether he was based in a major centre or small centre really is immaterial," the chief said.

 While investigators say it appears that the endeavour was lucrative based on the $46,000 seized during the search on Elm Street, they haven't determined how much money the operation was making. They say customers were paying through various means, including internet services such as PayPal, money orders and cash through the mail.

 Mr. Tanner faces a string of charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Customs Act. Those include importing, exporting, producing and trafficking in controlled substances, and possession of controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking.

 He is also charged with smuggling a controlled substance into Canada, evading the provisions of the Customs Act concerning the importation of controlled substances, and acquiring or disposing of imported controlled substances.

 Police laid a charge of breaching a recognizance earlier this month alleging that Mr. Tanner had access to a computer in late January after being ordered not to as a term of his release.

 As an aside to the investigation, he also faces a charge of possessing child pornography after officials checked a computer seized as part of the search and allegedly found illegal photos and videos. Mr. MacDonald said the extent of that crime is still being determined.

 Officials are also still considering charges under the Food and Drug Act relating to the illegally produced Viagra and Cialis.

 Possible penalties under the Customs Act include fines of up to $500,000 and five years in prison. Most of the charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act carry maximum penalties of three years.

 Mr. Tanner remains free on a recognizance pending court appearances on March 28 and April 11. Conditions include reporting weekly to Bridgewater Police, staying clear of computers and the internet, not going to the Bridgewater Pharmasave, and having no contact with twoemployees of the Bridgewater Pharmasave and one worker with Purolator Courier.