Pubdate: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) Copyright: 2000 The Sydney Morning Herald Contact: GPO Box 3771, Sydney NSW 2001 Fax: +61-(0)2-9282 3492 Website: http://www.smh.com.au/ Forum: http://forums.fairfax.com.au/ Author: Mark Forbes STEROIDS FIRM CUTS OFF ILLICIT TRADERS Exports to the world's biggest buyer of Australian steroids have been stopped after revelations it was supplying the international black market. Troy Laboratories, a large manufacturer of veterinary steroids, has announced it will no longer sell steroids to its Mexican distributor, Denkal. Troy's steroids were identified this month being sold to American drug dealers and teenagers from outlets in Tijuana. Nearly 30 per cent of Australia's steroid production is sent to Mexico, the centre of the illicit trade, with Denkal accounting for half of them. The general manager of Troy, Mr Rene Weiss, attacked the Federal Government for failing to act. He said it had shown a disappointing "lack of positive action and initiative". Despite calls for action from Troy, other pharmaceutical manufacturers, the Justice Minister, Senator Vanstone, and veterinary associations, the Minister for Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries, Mr Truss, is refusing to impose immediate restrictions on steroid exports. He is understood to have told Senator Vanstone he would agree to export controls only if they did not impinge on legitimate exports. But officials said the bulk of export sales were dubious and were concentrated in countries such as Mexico, Romania, the Philippines and Swaziland. Senator Vanstone said she had taken the unusual step of writing to other ministers. She was working with them to develop controls that "don't inhibit a legitimate industry unnecessarily". Mr Truss refused to comment on the need for a crackdown on the industry, or why the Government's National Registration Authority grants export quality assurance certificates to Denkal and other dubious distributors. A spokesman for Mr Truss claimed it was a difficult area to regulate. The chief executive of the Australian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, Mr Alan Evans, denied it was difficult to regulate. The association had already told the Government that export controls on human steroids worked well and could be applied to veterinary steroids, which were often identical in composition, he said. The executive director of the Veterinary Manufacturers and Distributors Association, Mr Harvey Baker, said he was concerned about the illegal, human use of animal steroids. Practical and effective measures to minimise diversion from export markets were needed. Denkal, Troy's Mexican distributor, said it was unconcerned about sales to American teenagers and drug dealers in Tijuana. This was allowed under Mexican regulations. Mr Weiss said: "Because of the Mexican distributor's inability to influence the sale and promotion of our products, we have now stopped the supply of steroids to them." It was a voluntary step. A second manufacturer whose steroids were being sold on the Mexican black market, Jurox, has also vowed to halt sales that may be being diverted to human use. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D