Gym Owner and Doorman Jailed Over £900,000 Steroid Stash

A gym proprietor and a doorman have been sentenced to prison terms for possessing performance-enhancing drugs valued at £900,000, which were stored in self-storage units in north Wales. Lee Ablitt, from Newton le Willows, Merseyside, and Christopher Thompson, from Wigan, Greater Manchester, concealed steroids and other substances intended for sale within numerous boxes and bags at a facility in Rhyl, Denbighshire. On Thursday, Mold Crown Court sentenced them for conspiracy to supply class C drugs, with Ablitt receiving a five-year sentence and Thompson a sentence of two years and nine months. Law enforcement officers additionally discovered nearly £500,000 in cash within the storage units. Subsequent searches conducted at sites in Merseyside and Cheshire escalated the overall estimated value of the drugs to approximately £2 million. The court heard that officers intercepted gym owner Ablitt, aged 51, on the M56 in October 2021 due to his driving disqualification. Inside his vehicle, they located multiple boxes containing class C drugs. Following his arrest, subsequent investigations guided authorities to two storage containers situated in Rhyl. Information retrieved from Ablitt’s mobile phone indicated that Thompson, the 49-year-old doorman, assumed control of the drug supply operation in 2021, after police started investigating Ablitt. He communicated to customers via a text message, stating: “I’ve taken a step back to have more time to run things effectively.” Both individuals utilized their respective local post offices for the distribution of steroids. Ablitt informed police that he commenced bodybuilding during his teenage years, subsequently acquiring steroids in large quantities. These purchases were made collaboratively with others to share expenses and were then supplied upon request. A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service commented: “Some people might not think of these drugs as dangerous, but they are controlled substances which can be harmful.”