More officers admit they bought steroids

More Edmonton police officers testified to buying anabolic steroids from Det. Greg Lewis during a steroid-trafficking trial Wednesday.

Lewis, 36, faces three charges of trafficking in a controlled substance after being arrested in March 2016 following a two-year investigation by the province’s police watchdog, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team.

Court heard that Const. Kevin Yaremchuk placed one order for liquid steroids Testosterone Cypionate and Deca Durabolin in 2009 and another order six months later for both drugs, as well as human growth hormone.

Yaremchuk said he paid between $500 and $1,000 per order.

An Edmonton Police Service member since 2000, he said he stopped using steroids after a snowboarding accident in 2010.

But in mid-2012, after making a recovery from his shoulder injury, he ordered another anabolic steroid, Winstrol, “two or three times” from Lewis to help regain muscle mass. That was the last time he used steroids, he told the court.

Const. Sean Parker testified he and a colleague, who was not named, placed orders for a variety of drugs including Test-E or Testosterone Enanthate, a liquid steroid, through Lewis sometime between 2009 and 2010.

Parker suffered adverse side-effects and stopped using the drug after two weeks, but several months later, he placed a second order. He again suffered side-effects. He said he never used steroids after that.

Fearing he might fail a mandatory fitness test that would see him removed from the force’s drugs and gang unit, Const. Craig Mathewson said he sought through Lewis two anabolic steroids, Dianabol and Stanozolol, to help get fit after a leg injury in 2009.

After taking pills for six days, Mathewson suffered a moral crisis, so he flushed the remainder down the toilet, he testified.

The officers faced disciplinary actions through the Professional Standards Branch that included suspensions, docked pay, as well as restrictions on duties and promotions.

A fourth witness, Const. Binoy Prabhu, testified Lewis had given him M1T, a synthetic testosterone, in early 2008. Prabhu said he took the pills for a month before stopping, as he saw no difference in his fitness level other than an elevated heart rate.

The Court of Queen’s Bench trial was expected to run until the end of the week.