Local News in Brief : Steroid Shipments Seized, Man Held

Several shipments of steroids from South America valued at more than $500,000 have been confiscated and an employee of an air courier company arrested in El Segundo in the largest such seizure ever in the Los Angeles area, authorities said Tuesday.

Lowell Coble, 49, of Venice was taken into custody Saturday by U.S. Customs agents and members of a multi-agency police investigative team, Customs Pacific Regional Commissioner Quintin Villaneuva said.

Coble’s arrest and the seizure of more than 130,000 doses of steroids came after a Customs inspector became suspicious of a package from Brazil, Villaneuva said.

U.S. Atty. Robert Bonner said a criminal complaint was filed against Coble, charging him with possessing a large quantity of anabolic steroids for sale and with receiving steroids while knowing that they had been illegally imported from Brazil.