On social media, the Australian model Nateesha Barlin looks beautiful and glamorous. The photos show a glamorous lifestyle and one of luxury that she enjoys with her beau Dylan Shaw.
But the 23 year old stunner has not always been as glamorous as she shows on Facebook and Instagram. In fact, she said on Facebook recently that she was even considered the ‘ugly kid’ in her class. Old pictures of her wearing braces from a decade ago are another world from the tiny, blonde bikini model who has tens of thousands of followers on social media and often shares photos with barely anything on.
But it also is another world from the life she has allegedly been leading, according to local authorities: a criminal business where she and Shaw have been convicted for importing and distributing human growth hormones, testosterone and anabolic steroids.
The Daily Telegraph this month reported that the Australian Border Force police grabbed a haul of the illegal materials that was supposed to arrive in the country between May-October 2016. The illegal drugs included 13,700 tables, 11 liters of testosterone, 600 ml of anabolic steroid and 20 vials of HGH. Due to these seizures, ABF also had several other raids at several homes across the Australian Central Coast between Nov. 7-11, 2017. Those raids also turned up 12 more liters of illegal performance enhancing drugs, 100 grams of pot and 300 more vials of HGH.
The pair is expected to get their sentence on June 26. But for now, they have been out on bail. Even though she faces serious criminal charges, Barlin has continues to put pictures on social media of her sporting bikinis and fitness apparel. It appears the young woman is not ever one to look away from the camera, as camera men waited outside the courthouse in March 2017. She said that she should make the picture look good while she was there.
The two criminals were arrested after a 24 month investigation. Police stated that the drugs that were seized were supposed to go to the black market. Media reports stated that Australian customs and immigration enforcement seized the drugs and that this was a huge win for Australian law enforcement.
According to the police, these drugs can have very serious health effects for millions of users. The Australian immigrations and customs enforcement agency is strongly committed to preventing these drugs from being imported. Anyone who imports steroids or any other types of drugs into Australia without a permit, there are serious consequences.
Barlin pleaded guilty to the crime and she faces up to five years in prison or a fine as high as $180,000. Shaw has been charged with five counts of importing illegal drugs, including liquid testosterone, human growth hormones and steroids from February to October.
Illegal Steroid Rings Common Throughout the World
Given their ability to enhance performance, illegal steroids are big business all over the world, including the United States. Of course, selling steroids in the US is a federal crime. For example WWE’s Roman Reigns in 2018 was named as a client of imprisoned steroid distributor Richard Rodriguez. That man’s business Wellness Fitness Nutrition LLC was busted by the Drug Enforcement Agency in February 2017 as part of a wider illegal steroid investigation.
The company, which has been taken down in another scandal that mostly has been ignored by the national media, has been compared to the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative. That organization was linked to many big name athletes taking illegal steroids, such as Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, and Bill Romanowski.
The US Attorney’s Office states that WFN’s client list features at least 50 clients in New York’s East District in a huge illegal steroid ring that made a minimum of $10 million in distributing illegal steroids.
Rodriguez is in prison today, and recently came forward to name several Hollywood actors as clients, including Mark Wahlberg, Josh Duhamel and WWE’s Reigns.
This is hardly the first time that the WWE has been hit with a steroid scandal. It probably will not be the last. In fact, for some, the case sounds like the 2007 Signature Pharmacy steroid ring. This ring was also based in Florida and was linked to many WWE stars. The list included a man named Chris Benoit, who passed away in 2007 in a murder suicide where he killed his wife and son before killing himself. At the time, the Benoit tragedy open a large national dialogue about steroids in professional wrestling; steroid residue was found in his body.
How WWE handled the Signature Pharmacy scandal may or may not be a good sign for Reigns. He is the current Intercontinental champion. WWE came down hard when the Signature Pharmacy Scandal hit, with a dozen wrestlers immediately suspended.