Chetan Viraj Jethwa, the former team leader of leisure facilities for the Hamilton City Council, allowed his pursuit of bodybuilding to lead him into the world of anabolic steroids. Jethwa moved from using steroids to selling steroids and ultimately to selling recreational drugs according to Crown prosecutors in New Zealand.
Jethwa was arrested earlier this year and charged with six counts related to anabolic steroids and twelve counts involving importing, selling and possession of 4-Methylethcathinone (4-MEC) and Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV). The designer drugs have been marketed to individuals seeking a “legal high”. 4-MEC and MDPV have been sold under trade names “NRG-2” and “Ivory Wave”, respectively, in gas stations and convenience stores.
It was Jethwa’s involvement in bodybuilding and steroids that led him to a partnership with another man who wanted to sell designer party drugs according to Phil Morgan, the defense attorney for Jethwa.
Morgan told the Hamilton High Court that his client met his partner in crime at local bodybuilding competitions in 2010. They shared an interest in bodybuilding and steroids and also making money.
“He was very susceptible to being told he could make a lot of money if he imported chemicals from websites and turn them into pills and sell them . . . the invention was ridiculously successful,” according to Morgan.
Jethwa imported a $4,000 electronic pill press and other equipment to establish an underground laboratory (UGL) in his garage in October 2011. He subsequently imported raw 4-MEC and MPDV powder and created bulk quantities of the party pills.
Jethwa was responsible for manufacturing the pills. His partner was responsible for selling the pills. In total, the team sold 114,030 pills in less than four months. Each pill only cost $3 to produce but sold at $6 on the street for a total of $684,180. The two bodybuilders split the profits.
During the sentencing hearing, Morgan argued that his client had already suffered enough. He lost his well-paying government job, he lost his beautiful wife and he lost the respect of the Indian community in New Zealand after his arrest.
Justice Geoffrey Venning agreed. Since Jethwa showed genuine remorese, Jethwa was allowed to avoid jail. The judge sentenced Jethwa to one year of home detention and 300 hours of community service.
Source:
Feek, B. (September 21, 2012). Council worker’s drug factory. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/7710286/Council-workers-drug-factory
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