Feds crack down on steroids

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is taking a swing at steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs that are controversial for their past use by baseball players like Mark McGwire and Alex Rodriguez.

The DEA arrested more than 90 suspects, seized 16 illegal steroid labs and confiscated loads of steroids as part of a global investigation tabbed Operation Cyber Juice, authorities announced Tuesday. 

{mosads}“Too many young people are ruining their lives and damaging their bodies from steroid abuse,” DEA acting administrator Chuck Rosenberg said in a statement. “Through Operation Cyber Juice, DEA is attacking the global underground steroid market, exposing its danger and lies.”

Steroids are commonly used to build muscle mass, but they are often manufactured in unsanitary conditions and can have negative health effects, the DEA noted.

The crackdown comes as Major League Baseball exits the so-called steroid era that shook the sport during the 1990s and early 2000s.

The DEA made no reference to baseball as part of Operation Cyber Juice, but the sport is responsible for making steroids a pop culture reference and has been targeted by federal authorities in the past. It’s unclear whether the MLB was connected to the current investigation.

The DEA teamed with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and international law enforcement agencies during the investigation.