Bodybuilder Hans Vogel did not allow a police raid to deter him from illegally selling steroids.
Hans Vogel, a competitive bodybuilder who won the 2007 NABBA Mr. Ireland championship, brazenly continued to distribute anabolic steroids and other bodybuilding drugs even after police raided his apartment.
The Irish Garda Síochána executed a search warrant on his Dublin apartment on May 26, 2015. Police seized a large quantity of products manufactured by Alpha Pharma Healthcare. The products included items such as Testobolin (testosterone enanthate), Rexobol (stanozolol) and Astralean (clenbuterol).
An investigation conducted by the Irish Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) determined that Vogel had been selling steroids for over 6 years. Vogel was pocketing €500 to €600 every week from selling steroids.
In addition to the massive seizure of Alpha Pharma products, investigators also seized customers lists and sales data. They even contacted and interviewed several of Vogel’s customers.
A police raid might be enough to scare most other steroid dealers. But not Vogel. He kept on selling steroids.
Vogel took a few additional security measures after his apartment was raided. Vogel recruited other people to take possession of the steroid shipments rather than have them shipped directly to his apartment. Unfortunately, this was not sufficient to outsmart police investigators.
Investigators seized a package containing €28,000 worth of anabolic steroids sent to the Tallaght woman on February 25, 2016. They also seized a package containing €22,000 sent to the An Post postman on April 19, 2016. Both packages were sent at the direction of Vogel.
Two Irish judges refused to send the steroid dealer to jail.
Vogel pleaded guilty to 8 violations of the Irish Medicine Boards Act of 1995 in connection with the May 2015 raid on his apartment during a court appearance on October 18, 2018. But Dublin District Court Judge Flannan Brennan rejected Vogel’s plea agreement.
Judge Brennan completely dismissed the case. This allowed Vogel to avoid a criminal conviction and maintain a squeaky clean criminal record if he paid a €1,000 fine.
This month, Brennan appeared in court again in connection with the February 2016 and April 2016 steroid package seizures. Dublin District Court Judge Michael Coghlan also refused to send Vogel to jail.
However, Judge Coghlan recorded a criminal conviction after accepting Vogel’s guilty plea to multiple violations of the Irish Medicine Boards Act. Vogel was also fined €2,000 and ordered to reimburse the state for €5,000 used to perform a chemical analysis of the steroid products.
At the end of the day, Vogel got to keep all of the proceeds that he made from selling steroids for over 6 years. And most importantly, Vogel was able to stay out of jail.
Source:
Tuite, T. (February 22, 2019). Former Mr Ireland spared jailed over €50k illegal steroid seizure after leap of faith by judge. Retrieved from independent.ie/irish-news/crime/former-mr-ireland-spared-jailed-over-50k-illegal-steroid-seizure-after-leap-of-faith-by-judge-37843789.html