File photo of anabolic steroids seized by the US Drug Enforcement Administration during a raid in September 2007. Checks show that Asia Pharma has no physical presence in Malaysia. — Picture courtesy of wikipedia.orgKUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — Asia Pharma Ltd, said to be a Kuala Lumpur-based pharmaceutical firm run by a suspected steroid trafficker from Slovenia with a worldwide operation, has an online presence here but is not registered nor authorised to trade in drugs in Malaysia, the Ministry of Health has said.
Mihael Karner was last week reported by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) to be behind an umbrella company advertising sales of anabolic steroids in Malaysia called Asia Pharma, and was among six individuals and groups listed by US President Barack Obama as a significant foreign drug trafficker under its Kingpin Act.
“Investigation conducted locally indicates that Asia Pharma does not have a physical address in Malaysia and the listed local phone number is not in service,” Mohd Hatta Ahmad, who is director of enforcement in the Health Ministry’s pharmaceutical services division, said in an email reply to The Malaysian Insider’s inquiry.
“Also the steroids were not brought into nor exported from Malaysia [sic] soil. It is probable that the said company reside [sic] its server locally without being legally nor physically registered in Malaysia,” he added.
A check on Google by The Malaysian Insider shortly after the WSJ reported Obama’s sanctions showed Asia Pharma to be a limited liability pharmaceutical company in Kuala Lumpur with a local phone and fax number but did not list a physical or mailing address.
On its home page, the company said its main goal was the manufacture and sale of affordable yet high-quality generic pharmaceutical products to developing countries that cannot afford the expensive proprietary drugs. Most of its 56-listed products dealt with male and female hormone treatment.
It claimed the mission of “Asia Pharma Ltd is to improve the efficiency of healthcare systems worldwide by providing them more drugs of the same quality for the same money.”
Mohd Hatta said the Health Ministry’s checks on Asia Pharma also turned up empty as it was not registered as a pharmaceutical company with the Drug Control Authority, which is under the Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984 (CDCR).
“This company is therefore not authorised to trade in pharmaceutical products,” he said.
The trade of steroids is regulated in Malaysia under the Poisons Act 1952, Mohd Hatta said.
He explained that drugs such as steroids, which affect both male and female hormones, are classified as poison and therefore all sale or purchase requires a government licence, but stressed that “online trade of poisons including steroids is prohibited in Malaysia.”
He also said the Health Ministry will be working with other government agencies to clamp down on Asia Pharma if there was evidence to show the company had used a Malaysian server.
Mohd Hatta said those convicted of violating the CDCR can be sentenced to a maximum fine of RM25,000 or three years’ jail for the first offence. Those convicted of subsequent offences under the law face up to five years’ imprisonment or double the fine.
Those found guilty of trading in poisons, like steroids, without a licence, can be sentenced to RM5,000 or two years behind bars, he added.
The WSJ had reported that Karner, his wife and brother were charged in a Massachusetts federal court in 2010 on three counts of money-laundering conspiracy, and importing and distributing steroids.
Karner was reported to have since fled back to his native Slovenia from where he is continuing his operations despite the US authorities’ actions, the daily cited an unnamed US Treasury official saying.
In calling for sanctions, Obama was reported to have invoked the Kingpin Statute, properly called the Continuing Criminal Enterprise (CCE) Statute, a US federal law aimed to dismantle criminal narcotics enterprises that function like legitimate businesses.
The WSJ reported Obama had imposed sanctions against six individuals and groups, including Karner, an alleged anabolic steroids dealer.
According to the international business news and current affairs daily, Karner heads an international organisation that sells anabolic steroids on the Internet and has created shell companies to hide the origin of the profits.
An anabolic steroid is known as a performance-booster and consumed for cosmetic purposes but which can severely damage a person’s health in the long run.
Bukit Aman is also investigating Asia Pharma but its initial findings have led it to a wall, according to federal Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department deputy director Datuk Haris Wong Abdullah.
Contacted yesterday, he told The Malaysian Insider the police had in hand the original source of information regarding the allegation but said the reports linking Malaysia to a global anabolic steroid trafficking ring run by Karner were incorrect.
“I’ve got the text from the original source and who issued it... it is not correct what was reported.
“There was nothing about the drug. And we are investigating the company,” he said of Asia Pharma when contacted, adding: “It does not exist, only a virtual address.”
Haris said as far as the police were concerned, there is no steroid trafficking operation in the country, but added that investigations were ongoing.
Asked if the police would speak to the WSJ about its report, he asked back: “Why should we?”
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