Hyderabad: 3 people arrested for illegally procuring, selling growth hormone injections

A total of 1,100 tablets and 180 hormone injection vials, together worth Rs.1 lakh were seized by the police on Friday.

Hyderabad: Three persons, including a gym trainer, were arrested on charges of illegally procuring and selling growth hormone injections and tablets, which are used as steroids to build muscles in a short time, in SR Nagar on Friday. A total of 1,100 tablets and 180 injection vials, together worth Rs.1 lakh were seized.

The Task Force along with the SR Nagar police and a Drug Control team nabbed D.Omprakash (40), who has protein supplement business at Ameerpet, S.Naresh (38), protein supplement seller from Amberpet, and Syed Farooq (27), a gym trainer from Barkas in Chandrayangutta. One person, Avinash from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, is absconding.

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According to the police, Omprakash freelanced as a gym trainer before setting up his own muscle nutrition supplement protein business. Aware of the demand of growth hormone injections and tablets in the market, he started to procure them at a lower cost and sell at higher rates to gym goers, fitness and body building enthusiasts.

Task Force DCP, Chakravarthy Gummi said Omprakash also roped in his childhood friend Avinash, who runs a pharmacy, in procuring and selling of growth hormone injections and tablets, apart from Naresh, who is into distribution business of protein supplements to gyms, and Syed Farooq, a gym trainer at Begum Bazaar.

Chakravarthy Gummi said, “Omprakash explained them about the demand for growth hormone based injections and tablets among body builders and gym goers. Offering good commission, he started to supply started supplying through them to several people in the city.”

Officials cautioned that such growth hormone injections and tablets may cause side effects including cardiac arrest, high blood pressure.

Following a tip-off, the trio was nabbed and the incriminating material was seized from them. The arrested persons along with the seized material were handed over to the SR Nagar police for further investigation.