Health Trainer Arrested for Manufacturing Illegal Steroids... MFDS to Recover Criminal Proceeds

Illegal Drug Manufacturing and Sales Worth 440 Million KRW
MFDS Recovers Proceeds from Illegal Drug Sales for the First Time

Two health trainers who manufactured and sold illegal drugs, including illegal steroids, have been arrested.

On the 18th, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that it had identified and sent to prosecution two health trainers for violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and the Health Crime Control Act by manufacturing and selling illegal drugs such as steroids and growth hormones, and that it had seized their criminal proceeds.

Photo by Ministry of Food and Drug Safety

From April 2017 to October 2023, they received semi-finished products in vial (glass bottle) form containing drug ingredients such as steroids and growth hormones from sellers in China via international mail, and manufactured a total of 23 types of illegal drugs by attaching labels printed with product names.

The total amount of illegal drugs manufactured in this manner was confirmed to be approximately 28,900 vials. They sold about 24,000 vials to 200 acquaintances through social networking sites (SNS) for approximately 440 million won. The remaining approximately 4,900 vials were seized during a manufacturing site raid by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

Analysis of the components and content of the illegal steroid products by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety revealed that up to 239 mg of the male hormone "testosterone" was detected in one vial. This is similar to the level of officially approved prescription drugs (250 mg per vial), raising significant concerns about side effects such as hair loss and depression.

All of these illegal steroids and other drugs are injectable drugs but were not produced in a strict manufacturing environment such as sterilization. If self-administered by the general public, bacterial infections may occur, so if purchased, they should never be used and must be disposed of immediately.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety explained, "For the criminal proceeds of about 200 million won generated after January 4, 2022, when it became possible to recover criminal proceeds from suspects sentenced to more than three years in prison, seizure orders (preliminary seizure) have been executed," adding, "This is the Ministry’s first case of recovering criminal proceeds."

It added, "We will continue to strengthen supervision and investigation of acts that threaten public health, such as manufacturing and selling illegal drugs, and do our best to create an environment where the public can use medicines with confidence through strict punishment including recovery of criminal proceeds."