Edwin Richard Crawley, the founder of the original British Dragon steroid lab, died early this morning due to complications from pneumonia only weeks after being released from federal prison according to a source familiar with the case. Crawley had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids on March 18, 2011 in United States District Court in Seattle.
Crawley faced up to 20 years in prison, a one million dollar fine and 5 years probation. Instead, U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez sentenced him to “credit for time served” on June 2, 2011 presumably so that he would not die in federal custody. He is survived by a wife and daughter who were at his bedside when he died in a private hospital. He was 47 years old.
Crawley and his business partner Ashley Vincent Livingston were indicted in September 2007 in United States District Court in Seattle on charges of anabolic steroid importation and distribution, conspiracy and money laundering.
Crawley and Livingston were arrested by local police in Thailand in March 2008. Thai police arrested them at the request of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) via the Mutual Legal and Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between the United States and Thailand.
A Thailand Criminal Court originally ruled to extradite Crawley and Livingston in 2008. Livingston did not appeal the ruling and was extradited to the United States three years ago.
Crawley decided to fight extradition. The Thailand Court of Appeals ruled against Crawley and upheld a lower court ruling authorizing extradition proceedings.
Crawley was finally extradited to the United States and arrested by United States Marshals on March 7, 2011.
Tragically, Crawley survived three years in a Thai prison only to succumb to serious illness after being extradited to U.S. custody.
UPDATE: Ashley Livingston pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids and one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering and was sentenced to 24 months in prison on March 5, 2010 by U.S. District Judge Martinez. Livingston was released early on August 5, 2010 after serving 5 months.
The original British Dragon was one of the best-known and most successful sources of anabolic steroids before the arrest of its founders. The current British Dragon is not associated with the original company and/or its founders.
About the author
Millard writes about anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs and their use and impact in sport and society. He discusses the medical and non-medical uses of anabolic-androgenic steroids while advocating a harm reduction approach to steroid education.
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