The searches in the morning of 18 January led to: Three arrests EUR 124 620 in cashPackaging material (such as plastic containers, paper packaging and stickers)Documents containing orders placed, customer names, and drug pricesNumerous courier delivery slips Offensive weapons including a pistol, a knife, and a knuckle-dusterThree winning gambling tickets worth just under EUR 20 000 Nine mobile phones and one SD cardLaw enforcement believes that the criminal operation began in 2017, offering for-profit storage, marketing, distribution and supply of banned anabolic steroids and counterfeit medicines, such as anti-erectile dysfunction drugs. The criminals, who were based in Greece, sourced their illicit substances mainly via China and Eastern Europe. The criminals also sourced packaging for the illicit substances in these countries, even securing counterfeit authenticity tapes of Greece’s National Medicines Agency. The suspects are alleged to have had an international clientele that included dozens of professional athletes, while deliveries were done using international courier services based on false sender information. Profits were then laundered using bank accounts made with stolen identities, and via gambling tickets. Europol supported the operation with the deployment of a specialist to the headquarters of Greece’s Financial Police Directorate. Europol’s Property Crime Coordinated Coalition (IPC3) is co-funded by EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) to combat intellectual property crime. 

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