Fernando Reis, the mastermind behind the underground lab Azorian World Order as well as a large-scale British Dragon counterfeit operation, pleaded guilty to 15 counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, trafficking and importing anabolic steroids and prescription drugs into Canada. Reis was sentenced on March 6, 2009 to time served and two years probation. The Azorian World Order (AWO), the “defender of the free world,” was the umbrella company of a multi-million dollar underground Canadian steroid lab and steroid counterfeit operation.
Azorian World Order (AWO) did not sell steroids under its own label but sold them under the labels of various other underground labs. Fernando Reis counterfeited steroid labels that were already well-established on the black market such as British Dragon. Reis may have manufactured anabolic steroid products for various underground labs (UGLs) throughout Canada such as Teragon Labs and Oropharma Labs. It is unclear whether Reis supplied these UGLs with product or simply counterfeited them. Fernando Reis also produced fake Pfizer Viagra medications. He also counterfeited various supplement brands, such as Andro Technologies and Future Nutrition, and sold them to health and fitness stores in Canada.
The Azorian World Order manufactured and/or counterfeited the following non-exhaustive list of anabolic steroids, prohormones, and supplement products: Interpharma IPG-Testeron (methyltestosterone), British Dragon Decabol 250 (nandrolone decanoate), British Dragon Trenabol 75 (trenbolone acetate), Oropharma Mexico Testoviron (testosterone enanthate), Teragon Labs Parabolan (trenbolone acetate), Spectro Labs Sildenafil Citrate, Andro Technologies M1T (methyl 1-testosterone), Andro Technologies DHEA, 1-Andro, Future Nutrition Physician’s Formula Acetyl L-Carnitine.
The Waterloo Regional Police and Kitchener RCMP arrested Fernando Reis on April 11, 2008 after the conclusion of two months of surveillance along with an independent investigation by the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Pfizer hired a private investigation firm to investigate the illicit business(es) of Fernando Reis after discovering counterfeit sildenafil citrate packaged to resemble brand name Viagra. Viagra is a registered trademark of Pfizer in various countries including the United States and Canada. Pfizer shared the results of their investigation with Canadian law enforcement. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Drug Section officially began their investigation after the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) intercepted a package addressed to Ries that contained sildenafile citrate.
The Kitchener RCMP seized 600,000 capsules and 582,000 tablets of various anabolic steroids and prohormones, ancillary medications and other prescription drugs, as well as dietary supplements from a Kitchener U-Haul storage unit and his Kitchener residence. Unprocessed anabolic steroids and erectile-dysfunction drugs from China were seized from a private mail box at the Instant Print Copy Centre & Mail Boxes in Markham and a homebrew steroid recipe book was confiscated from Reis’ Waterloo home; the RCMP valued the steroid bust in excess of $2 million (“22 months in jail for steroid czar,” March 6, 2009).
A balding, bespectacled man with cerebral palsy, he pleaded guilty in Kitchener court to 15 counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, trafficking and importing drugs to Canada.
In a plea deal, Reis was sentenced to the equivalent of 22 months in jail — 11 months already spent in pre-trial custody, credited on a two-for-one basis — and two years on probation. […]
Federal prosecutor Catrina Braid said in an agreed statement of facts that the steroid seizure is believed to be one of the biggest ever in Canada. More than $1 million in deposits were made to various bank accounts held by Reis between 2002 and 2008.
Reis admitted using profits from the illegal drug business to buy five houses, some of which he rented out. Two of the houses — on Grey Abbey Trail in Cambridge and Orchid Crescent in Kitchener — were forfeited as the proceeds of crime, along with about $25,000.
Reis was effectively sentenced to time served after being held in policy custody for eleven months while awaiting trial. Justice of the Peace Andrew Marquette denied bail because he believed steroid trafficking represented a public safety issue due to the lack of quality control and abuse potential. Defense attorney Devin Bains argued unsuccessfully for his client’s release on bail contrasting the trivial nature of steroids with that of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. “Even though these things are bad, they sit on the lower range of things when it comes to trafficking,” he said. “Nobody is suggesting people walking around with muscles or erections are dangerous… (“Steroid accused says he’s ahead of his time,” June 17, 2008).”
This is the second time that the Portuguese-born Reis has been convicted of trafficking. In 1997, Fernando Reis was sentenced to 18-months in jail after pleading guilty to 31 counts of manufacturing illegal drug products and distributing them via mail-order in violation of the Food and Drug Act.
Fernando Reis advertised the Azorian World Order and Spectro Labs sildenafil citrate on a 50megs website. The Spectro Labs website remains active.
[embedplusvideo height=”348″ width=”570″ standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/OOPgx6-aSvM?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=OOPgx6-aSvM&width=570&height=348&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep5090″ /]
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.
12 replies
Loading new replies...
Join the full discussion at the MESO-Rx →