The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has issued an order for a key member of an organized international smuggling group, which was accountable for the shipment of 42 tons of steroids, to surrender cryptocurrency worth £7.5 million ($9.4 million) or face a decade in prison.
Mohammed Afzal, a resident of Slough, received a prior two-year prison sentence in November 2019 after his conviction for conspiring to produce anabolic steroids to sell them illicitly.
A magistrate of the Central Criminal Court, on the other hand, ordered the 39-year-old to surrender assets worth £9.825 million ($12.3 million) or face an additional decade in prison on Friday.
This comprises a Mercedes SUV, £7.5 million in cryptocurrency, and £1 million ($1.3 million) in property value.
The NCA estimates this is the most substantial cryptocurrency recovery facilitated by the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Steroids were procured by Afzal’s crew from a pharmaceutical company based in India and subsequently transported to the United Kingdom.
Following this, a sequence of laboratories under the ownership of Afzal transformed the substance into a liquid state before its distribution to illicit steroid users.
Four more gang members have been found guilty and mandated to surrender their assets, resulting in a cumulative confiscation exceeding £11.8 million ($14.8 million).
The organization was associated with 49 shipments totaling 16,000 kilograms of unlicensed steroids, which had an estimated value of $15 million (£12 million).
Utilizing external connections, Afzal pretended to possess a mere £100,000 ($125,000) in assets while concealing his real estate holdings and cryptocurrency investments.
