Heavyweights owner Rob King faces ephedrine charges
3 counts filed under Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, according to RCMP
The owner of a local fitness company is facing three counts under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, according to the RCMP.
Rob King of Heavyweights Fitness has been under investigation since last year.
Police say the charges relate to the alleged illegal exportation of ephedrine.
The charges are unlawful exportation, unlawful possession, and an unlawful attempt to export from Canada a substance included in Schedule VI of the act.
King is scheduled to make his first appearance in provincial court in October.
Contacted Thursday, King declined comment, other than to say he is upset with CBC's coverage.
"I will never deal with you again," he said.
‘I’ve done nothing wrong’
In a March interview with CBC News, King said the police investigation lacked substance.
"I’ve done nothing wrong, and I’m getting smeared everywhere for something I didn’t do," King said at the time.
- Heavyweights warned about ephedrine sales in 2006
- Cross-border ephedrine shipments spark police probe
The RCMP raided King’s business locations and home in November 2012.
From August to October 2012, police had intercepted packages of ephedrine — 44 of them, containing 44,700 pills — mailed to customers all over the United States.
"I had no issues in shipping to the U.S. and everywhere for 10 years," King said in March.
"So for 10 years I did not receive one notice. I did not receive one document. I did not receive anything saying that what I was doing was illegal."
However, CBC News subsequently reported that King had been warned about selling the product by the provincial pharmacy board more than six years ago.
In October 2006, registrar Don Rowe wrote King asking him to "immediately cease the sale of any products containing ephedrine."
Maximum sentence 10 years
The maximum sentence for convictions under the relevant sections of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act is 10 years imprisonment.
But the three charges filed under the act may not be the end of King’s potential legal troubles.
The RCMP is also investigating King for money laundering and proceeds of crime.
The police told CBC News that aspect of their investigation is not over, and there could be more charges.