Jennings man pleads guilty to importing and distributing steriods

Defendant ordered illegal drugs delivered by mail from overseas 

United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that Christopher Paul Benoit, 33, of Jennings, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi to conspiring to unlawfully import and possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids. 

According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, from January 2007 to June 2012, Benoit conspired with others to import steroids using the U.S. mail. Benoit ordered anabolic steroids online and paid for the drugs using money wires or debit cards to foreign accounts. The indictment lists five such orders delivered from China to Jennings from January 2011 to February 2012. Benoit and his co-conspirators would then take the powdered steroids from the packages, liquefy them, and place them into vials for sale. One of the co-conspirators, Regan Chase Benoit, 26, also of Jennings, and Christopher Benoit’s first cousin, approached Christopher Benoit in 2010 to purchase steroids. Regan Benoit admitted he later assisted his cousin in liquefying the powder steroids for distribution. Regan Benoit pleaded guilty to steroid importation, possession, and distribution charges on September 5, 2013, and sentencing is set for March 27, 2014. 

Christopher Benoit faces up to 10 years in prison, a $500,000 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release for one count of conspiracy to import and possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids. Sentencing has been set for May 8, 2014. 

Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Jennings Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett L. Grayson is prosecuting the case. 

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