Surveillance Cameras at UPS Store Used to Bust Suspected Steroid Dealer
by Millard Baker ~ source
A Georgia man was arrested after law enforcement used surveillance camera footage to confirm he was responsible for shipping a package containing human growth hormone (hGH). The Henry Country Sheriff’s Office arrested Jonathan Hom for shipping twenty vials of hGH at the local UPS Store in Jacksonville (Georgia).
The arrest warrant alleged that Hom was “distributing the steroid to a civilian without a valid prescription.” However, any athlete or bodybuilder familiar with performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) knows that hGH is not an anabolic steroid. However, it is not uncommon for many people, including law enforcement officers, to assume that all performance-enhancing drugs, whether it is hGH, clenbuterol or Arimidex, belong to the category of drugs known as “anabolic steroids”.
The surveillance camera footage, that allegedly captured Hom in the act of shipping the hGH, only confirmed that Hom was responsible for shipping a specific package. Authorities have not explained how officers learned that the package contained illegal hGH. Was a UPS Store employee suspicious of Hom? Were the police tipped off by someone who knew Hom? Did a confidential informant implicate Hom?
Nonetheless, as Big Brother-type surveillance becomes more commonplace in society, it is inevitable that high-tech cameras will be used to track steroid and other drug dealers who try to ship illegal merchandise anonymously using shipping services provided by private companies such as the UPS Store.
As if steroid sources didn’t have enough reason to be paranoid of law enforcement, now they are at the mercy of the increasingly ubiquitous closed circuit television system that are popping up in major cities around the country.
Hom satisfied the requirements of a $20,000 bond and was released from the Henry County Jail. A preliminary court date for his case was scheduled for October 16, 2012.
Source:
Smith, J. (September 21, 2012). Man accused of shipping steroids. Retrieved from http://www.henryherald.com/news/2012/sep/21/man-accused-shipping-steroids/
by Millard Baker ~ source
A Georgia man was arrested after law enforcement used surveillance camera footage to confirm he was responsible for shipping a package containing human growth hormone (hGH). The Henry Country Sheriff’s Office arrested Jonathan Hom for shipping twenty vials of hGH at the local UPS Store in Jacksonville (Georgia).
The arrest warrant alleged that Hom was “distributing the steroid to a civilian without a valid prescription.” However, any athlete or bodybuilder familiar with performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) knows that hGH is not an anabolic steroid. However, it is not uncommon for many people, including law enforcement officers, to assume that all performance-enhancing drugs, whether it is hGH, clenbuterol or Arimidex, belong to the category of drugs known as “anabolic steroids”.
The surveillance camera footage, that allegedly captured Hom in the act of shipping the hGH, only confirmed that Hom was responsible for shipping a specific package. Authorities have not explained how officers learned that the package contained illegal hGH. Was a UPS Store employee suspicious of Hom? Were the police tipped off by someone who knew Hom? Did a confidential informant implicate Hom?
Nonetheless, as Big Brother-type surveillance becomes more commonplace in society, it is inevitable that high-tech cameras will be used to track steroid and other drug dealers who try to ship illegal merchandise anonymously using shipping services provided by private companies such as the UPS Store.
As if steroid sources didn’t have enough reason to be paranoid of law enforcement, now they are at the mercy of the increasingly ubiquitous closed circuit television system that are popping up in major cities around the country.
Hom satisfied the requirements of a $20,000 bond and was released from the Henry County Jail. A preliminary court date for his case was scheduled for October 16, 2012.
Source:
Smith, J. (September 21, 2012). Man accused of shipping steroids. Retrieved from http://www.henryherald.com/news/2012/sep/21/man-accused-shipping-steroids/
