Ex-Olympian Free in Smuggling Case

A former British Olympian charged with masterminding a massive steroid-smuggling ring was released from custody Friday after bail was posted in the form of $740,000 in property pledges.

U.S. District Judge J. Lawrence Irving allowed David Jenkins, 35, now living in Oceanside, to be freed on $740,000 bail secured by property pledged by his father, wife and in-laws, Assistant U.S. Atty. Phil Halpern said.

Jenkins, who had been jailed on $1 million bond, is among 34 people charged in a 110-count indictment alleging a conspiracy to manufacture, smuggle and distribute millions of dollars worth of anabolic steroids into the United States from Mexico.

The government contends the alleged nationwide ring started when Jenkins asked the owner of a Tijuana pharmaceutical lab, Juan Javier Macklis, to manufacture steroids in Mexico. The tissue-building drugs allegedly were shipped in containers with fake labels that indicated they had been produced either by legitimate or fictitious drug companies.