In brief: Jersey Customs officers have seized more than 7,400 performance- and image-enhancing drug tablets in 131 seizures since 2019, according to figures released under a freedom-of-information request. Fourteen seizures have already been recorded in 2026, compared with ten in the whole of 2025. A local gym owner who used anabolic steroids from the age of 17 says social pressure and body image anxiety are driving the trend.
The Numbers Behind the Seizures
The Jersey Evening Post reports that a freedom-of-information response has revealed 131 seizures of image- and performance-enhancing drugs by Jersey Customs since 2019. The total haul amounts to more than 7,400 tablets, over two litres of liquid drugs and 361 ampoules, the small containers typically used to hold injectable substances.
The peak year on record was 2023, when officers made 53 seizures, intercepting 3,278 tablets, just over 1.5 litres of liquid drugs and 103 ampoules. That single year produced more seizure incidents than the previous four years combined. Numbers fell to 24 seizures in 2024 and just ten in 2025, though the quantity of ampoules seized actually rose over those two years, from 58 to 140. So far in 2026, 14 seizures have been recorded, yielding 338 tablets, 180 millilitres of liquid drugs and 59 ampoules.
The category of drugs covered includes anabolic steroids and human growth hormones, as well as substances used to promote weight loss. Jersey’s Substance Use Strategy 2023 to 2033 describes them as carrying short- and long-term health risks, particularly when injected, and notes anecdotal evidence that some islanders continued to inject steroids.
Normalised in the Gym, Hidden in Plain Sight
Cameron Elliott, a Jersey gym owner who used anabolic steroids himself between the ages of 17 and 21, says the culture around these substances can quietly take hold in fitness circles. “When people around you are using and you see the results they’re getting, it’s easy to overlook the risks,” he told the JEP.
His own experience was not a story of sporting ambition. “It came from being bullied and feeling insecure about being skinny. I wanted to be bigger and feel more confident. The quick results encouraged me to keep going.” The consequences were severe: induced fits led to time in intensive care, he required surgery to remove breast tissue that had developed, and he suffered a serious decline in mental health, including mood swings and suicidal thoughts.
Social media, he argues, makes the problem worse. “You see someone’s physique, but you don’t necessarily know what they’ve taken or what’s happening with their health. That can leave people comparing themselves against something that isn’t realistically achievable through training alone.” His broader point is one worth taking seriously: “People aren’t always chasing sporting performance. Sometimes they’re chasing acceptance, confidence or the feeling of being good enough.”
A Gap in Jersey’s Sporting and Policy Landscape
Jersey’s ten-year Substance Use Strategy, published in 2023, flagged a specific concern: some local bodybuilding and contact sports competitions did not specifically ban or ask about the use of these drugs. “This may extend further to other types of sports and could be a missed opportunity to protect participants,” the strategy noted. The document includes a commitment to increase harm-reduction work in areas where gaps had been identified, with performance-enhancing drugs listed among them.
Elliott broadly welcomes the strategy’s inclusion of these substances but wants more visible action. “I would like to see more visible education, particularly for young people, alongside confidential support for those already using,” he said. He also called on fitness professionals to set realistic expectations and promote genuine health, and urged a cultural shift away from shame: “Having been through it myself, I believe people need to feel comfortable speaking up early. Shame and judgement can make that harder.”
Source: Jersey Evening Post
