The Story of an Underground Lab Named Axio Continues

The United States government's quest to prosecute a founding owner of Axio Labs and Gennxxl continues. Federal prosecutors are seeking the extradition of Brian Wainstein from the Republic of South Africa. The South African national was arrested a few months after entering the country in mid-January. Wainstein's attorneys are fighting his extradition to the U.S. where he has been indicted on steroid distribution charges.

Brett Carnegie, the defense attorney for Wainstein, told local reporters that his client would vigorously fight the extradition request.

“We were well aware of the charges coming and we're prepared to fight them,” Carnegie said. “We have briefed advocates to contest the extradition vigorously.”

Wainstein has a long history of distributing anabolic steroids. He first sold steroids under the Genxxl Gear brand from his home in Ireland sometime before he was busted in 2003. It took five years before Ireland decided to prosecute Wainstein.

In the meantime, the Canadian government started investigating Axio Labs, another steroid UGL started by Wainstein, sometime in 2006. They busted his number two man in Canada after an eight-month undercover operation by city police and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Wainstein was also indicted. Canadian authorities had issued a warrant for Wainstein's arrest while he was in Ireland.

In 2008, a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court judge gave Wainstein a two year suspended sentence for the unlawful possession, sale, and distribution of anabolic steroids back in 2003. The judge apparently ignored the fact that Wainstein was running another steroid operation in Canada and had been indicted by Canadian authorities. The judge only required that Wainstein serve four months in prison of the suspended sentence.

By this time Wainstein had been indicted by both Canada and the United States. U.S. Prosecutors accused Wainstein of masterminding a steroid ring with the help of his wife and others since 2004. Wainstein was now on the Interpol wanted list.

After the Genxxl bust in Ireland bust and after the Axio Labs bust in Canada, Wainstein's steroid businesses remained operatoinal. After he was released from prison in Ireland, Wainstein apparently moved operations to Europe.

In 2010, an investigation led by German authorities dismantled Wainstein's newly created European distribution centers with major busts in Cyprus, France and Germany.

But Wainstein remained elusive for a few more years.

It took law enforcement until mid-January of 2013 to put Wainstein behind bars in South Africa.

But not for long. Wainstein is free after he was granted bail by the Cape Town Magistrate's Court pending the outcome of his extradition case.

Source:

SAPA. (February 3, 2013). 'Steroid king’ in court. Retrieved from //www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/steroid-king-in-court-1.1463162