'Greedy' £700,000 steroids gang ran 'unsanitary, contaminated' underground Telford lab to pump out 'poorly made' drugs
A police detective has revealed how a gang involved in an illegal steroids racket worth £700,000 produced the drugs in an “unsanitary” underground lab in Telford - with vials contaminated by human hairs.
Scott Etherington, David Panasiuk, his wife Jessica Panasiuk, Aaron Phipps, Michael North and Malcolm Wheeler faced justice at Shrewsbury Crown Court this week, more than seven years after their “sophisticated operation” was rumbled.
Now Detective Sergeant Rob Davies, serious and organised crime co-ordinator for West Mercia Police, has shared more details of their murky practices which weren’t revealed in court.
“The boss” Scott Etherington orchestrated things, selling gear through his D4NET company Instagram page.
"We cannot hide from the fact there is a whole community of people in the UK who use steroids, and how they trusted D4NET to be a safe choice, not knowing underground labs were used to produce these products,” DS Davies.
"This investigation shows that Etherington’s customers were sold a lie. The products were marketed to have the correct doses and appear to be made in laboratory conditions, which was not the case.
"Evidence uncovered in this investigation saw that the raw ingredients were left out in the open air in an untidy and unsanitary conditions, including vials being sold that were contaminated with human hairs.
"In addition to this, the group offered advice to steroid users on what products to take and how, without the proper training or experience to deliver such advice, which can cause devastating health problems.
"Many underground steroid labs market themselves as being part of the community of users, but in fact the only motivation in this case was making as much money as possible, at the detriment of the health of the people purchasing these poorly made products."
The court was told how Etherington had a number of businesses registered, including a clothing company named “Gear Heads” - a slang term for regular steroid users.
He made payments worth £230,000 to his co-conspirators for their criminal contributions over the course of six years from when the racket began in January 2012 to when it was brought down on May 7, 2018.
Etherington, aged 49, was based in Durham, but David Panasiuk ran the production side from a warehouse at a business park in Telford.
'Industrial scale'
Police busted the warehouse and discovered four pill presses - one of which was in working order - and raw materials for steroids which, once produced would be worth an estimated £500,000.
Matthew Harris, prosecuting, said the pill press “was used to generate industrial-scale amounts of anabolic steroids”.
“It was a sophisticated operation,” he added, saying that the professional packaging of the drugs which included bar and QR codes and use-by dates gave them “an air of legitimacy they shouldn’t have had”.
Police then executed a warrant at the home Panasiuk shares with his wife in Catterick Close, Leegomery, Telford, and discovered 85 vials of steroids as well as £17,000 in cash.
Between them, the Panasiuks received payments of £166,000 from Etherington.
Officers found evidence of their “expensive lifestyle”, including luxury watches and £1,000 cash in Jessica Panasiuk’s handbag.
They also found a box addressed to Wheeler which contained 52 vials of drugs.
It was discovered that Wheeler was a “retailer” of the drugs in Cornwall. He received £6,700 from Etherington and his wife was paid £15,000, but she was not prosecuted.
Telford-based Phipps’s mobile phone was examined by police on an unrelated matter when they found that he had been in contact with David Panasiuk. Phipps received £15,000 for his criminal efforts.
North’s main role was to help legitimise the “dirty money” that the group had made, with Etherington referring to him as a “badass money launderer” in a message. North, of Partridge Drive, Ketley, Telford, received £24,000 for his contributions.
'Motivated by greed'
Etherington; David Panasiuk, aged 42; Phipps, 40 and of Dunsheath, Telford, and 47-year-old Wheeler, of Grosvenor Place, St Austell, Cornwall, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class C drugs.
North, 36, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to acquire, use or possess criminal property.
Jessica Panasiuk, 32, pleaded guilty to acquiring criminal property.
Judge Trevor Meegan told the group: "You all played different but important roles. All of you were motivated by greed."
He jailed Etherington for four years and David Panasiuk for three years. It is expected they will serve up to half of their custodial terms before being released on licence.
Wheeler, Phipps and North were all handed two-year prison sentences, suspended for two years, plus 250 hours of unpaid work.
Phipps and North were also made subject of curfews, banning them from leaving their homes at night between 7pm and 7am the next day.
Jessica Panasiuk was handed a 12-month community order including 100 hours of unpaid work.
Etherington and the Panasiuks will be subject to a Proceeds of Crime Act case in the future to see if some of their ill-gotten gains can be recouped.
