Ukraine halts the illegal production of anabolic steroids disguised as medical drugs for athletes

law enforcement officers have notified the organizer and four members of an organized criminal group of suspicion for falsifying and selling counterfeit medicines.

Investigators say the group operated in several oblasts of Ukraine, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, and Odesa oblasts.

“Its members established a full cycle of illegal production and distribution of counterfeit medicines,” the report said. “Production was carried out in uncertified facilities in one of oblasts, using homemade equipment and raw materials of unknown origin.”

Authorities noted that the suspects manufactured a range of pharmaceutical products, including hormonal anabolic steroids such as testosterone propionate, commonly used by athletes to increase muscle mass.

“Outwardly, the medicines looked like original products — with factory-style packaging, labeling, holograms, and instructions,” the report said. “However, most of them were fake drugs not registered in Ukraine or any other country.”

The products were sold through Telegram channels, messaging apps, and websites. They were also shipped by mail to various oblasts, where other members of the group handled storage and distribution.

Officials said the suspects misled consumers by creating the illusion of legitimacy and quality, while in fact, the counterfeit drugs posed a direct threat to life and health.

“While documenting the activities of the interregional group, law enforcement conducted about 60 searches,” the report said. “They seized equipment, raw materials, and a large volume of finished products — 20,000 packages of more than 30 types of medications, nearly 5 kilograms of loose tablets, 1,850 vials, and 1,245 ampoule packages containing anabolic substances.”

In addition, two BMW vehicles — an X5 and an M8 — were seized, along with cash in national and foreign currencies, totaling the equivalent of more than 20 million hryvnias.

All suspects have been placed under preventive measures.

In June, detectives from the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine, in cooperation with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), dismantled a scheme for the illegal production and distribution of liquids for electronic cigarettes.

During searches at illicit manufacturing sites in Kharkiv and Lviv oblasts, authorities seized goods valued at 1.2 billion hryvnias.

In May, the Bureau of Economic Security and the National Police uncovered a separate group that had organized the illegal production of excisable goods in Kyiv Oblast on the site of a former farm.