Gautam Mohan Srivastava, Victoria baseball coach, charged with smuggling steroids
A Victoria baseball coach is among four B.C. men who have been charged with trafficking and producing steroids.
Gautam Mohan Srivastava, of Saanich, B.C. was the general manager of Victoria High Performance Eagles and coached a team of 18 and older seasonally for at least three years.
Following a two-year investigation by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) that spanned across the country, Srivastava now faces seven charges including smuggling and possession of unlawfully imported goods.
The Greater Victoria Baseball Association said Srivastava was suspended last week after it found out about the charges last week.
Fraser Campbell, the association's president, said the alleged steroid smuggling and charges do not involve any of its players.
"Not related at all," Campbell told CBC News. "But we know very little about it."
Project Juice
William Joel Baturin, of Sechelt B.C., Simon James Baturin of Vancouver B.C., and Hubert Moses Sims of Burnaby, B.C. have been also been charged with four counts including possession of unlawfully imported goods, trafficking and production under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
The investigation, called Project Juice, started in 2012 after steroids were intercepted in multiple postal seizures at the CBSA Vancouver and Greater Toronto mail centres and at the Vancouver International Air Cargo Centre.
Border officials have seized during the investigation in B.C:
- More than 5,600 vials
- 150,000 tablets
- Approximately 2.7 litres of prepared steroids
- Over 50 kilograms of pure raw powders
- $21,000.
“The CBSA continues to be vigilant in our enforcement efforts at the border," the CBSA said in a statement.
"These charges are a direct result of an intense investigation that spanned over two years ... The CBSA is committed to preventing inadmissible persons and goods from entering Canada and remains diligent in protecting Canada’s residents.”
