Third man part of ‘world’s most prolific’ gang smuggling anabolic steroids from India to UK held guilty

Southall-based Gurjaipal Dhillon was found guilty of being part of the gang by the high court on Wednesday.

The high court on Wednesday found Southall-based Gurjaipal Dhillon guilty of being part of what Britain’s crime officials call the ‘world’s most prolific’ gang smuggling anabolic steroids from India into the UK, to be sold to fitness fanatics on the black market worth millions of pounds.

The high court on Wednesday found Southall-based Gurjaipal Dhillon guilty of being part of what Britain’s crime officials call the ‘world’s most prolific’ gang smuggling anabolic steroids from India into the UK, to be sold to fitness fanatics on the black market worth millions of pounds. (AFP Photo)

Dhillon, 65, is the third person guilty after Mumbai-based Danish national Jacob Sporon-Fiedler, 38, and Maidenhead-based Nathan Selcon, 44, who earlier pleaded guilty in the case for which investigation began in 2014, following a seizure at Heathrow airport.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said Dhillon acted as a fixer for the group, arranging dozens of unlicensed shipments of drugs from India into Europe. The group, headed by Sporon-Fiedler, CEO of an India-based pharmaceutical firm, smuggled around 42 tonnes of illicit anabolic steroids into the UK.

The 2014 seizure of around 300 kg of the class C regulated drug was destined for an address in Belfast, following which NCA investigators began to piece together the movement of dozens of unlicensed shipments of drugs, many of which were organised by Dhillon.

“The illegally imported drugs - made by Sporon-Fiedler’s pharmaceutical company in India – were shipped using Dhillon’s contacts. Once in the UK they would be distributed by Selcon, to be sold to body builders and fitness fanatics on the black market”, the NCA said.

The three are due to be sentenced on July 15.

Rob Burgess of NCA said: “Dhillon was part of a conspiracy to illegally import huge amounts of anabolic steroids into the UK on an unprecedented scale. His role in that conspiracy was a crucial one, essentially organising the transport for the drugs and enabling them to be shipped to the UK”.

“We believe this organised criminal group to be the most prolific of its kind ever uncovered, probably the biggest global players in the illicit anabolic steroid market. They had the ability to move tonnes of anabolic steroids into Europe where they would be sold on the black market, pocketing millions of pounds in profit”.

Stating that the drugs smuggled posed potentially major health risks, Burgess said at the heart of the network was Sporon-Fiedler, the CEO of the company that manufactured the product.

“This investigation has identified importations totalling almost 42 tonnes of illegal steroids, however it is likely they were responsible for far more. Intelligence supplied by the NCA has led to further seizures and criminal investigations by law enforcement partners across Europe”, he added.