Chinese Steroid Ring Traced To Tennessee
Authorities say a steroid ring uncovered in Ohio used drugs imported from China and processed at a secret lab in Coffee County, Tenn., to peddle to high school athletes and other customers across the country.
Warren County officials said Tuesday that a grand jury in Lebanon, north of Cincinnati, indicted 32 people in the operation, including a bank manager, a pro wrestler and a stay-at-home mom. Charges include engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, trafficking drugs and drug possession.
Officials say the indictments stem from an undercover operation at a local YMCA that started after they received two unrelated tips.
They say one man in Ohio received drugs from Tennessee and that a suburban Cincinnati man he supplied ran a drug-dealing business, offering bonuses and other incentives to dealers with high sales.
Authorities said three Tennesseans, Jason Sherrill, 30, and Stephanie Sherrill, 26, both of Tullahoma, and Kenneth Freeman, 43, of Manchester, purchased drugs in powder form from China and mixed it into an injectable form to sell.
Authorities said their lab had moved from a home to a trailer about two or three weeks before it was raided by police and that agents raided multiple locations in Coffee and Franklin counties.
