Illegal steroid distribution networks, which may be responsible for Internet sales of performance-enhancing drugs nationwide, have been uncovered in New York and Rhode Island.

Customers reportedly included Los Angeles Angels outfielder Gary Matthews Jr., former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and former baseball star Jose Canseco, as well as a doctor for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"We've known for a long time that coaches, doctors, even companies prey and enable our athletes to use drugs against the rules," Travis Tygart, general counsel for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, said Wednesday.

"It's these types of national law enforcement efforts that will be most successful in bringing the manufacturers and distributors of these drugs to their knees... And that's good for all of sports and our athletes."

Testing may expose athletes who cheat, but it does little to punish those who make, market and distribute performance-enhancing substances, let alone stop the flow of drugs. That's why these new investigations have the potential to be so significant.

Federal and state agents raided two pharmacies in Orlando, Fla., on Tuesday. Investigators seized drugs, including anabolic steroids and human growth hormone, said Carl Metzger, narcotics commander for Orlando's Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation.

Eight people in three states were arrested, and prosecutors say 24 could face felony charges by the time their investigation is over.

Former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Jason Grimsley and a doctor for the Pittsburgh Steelers were linked to Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, according to the Times Union.

The paper also said Matthews, Canseco and Holyfield were allegedly on Applied Pharmacy's customer list. SI.com reported that Matthews allegedly was sent Genotropin, a brand of synthetic growth hormone, in August 2004.

The drug, which came from Applied Pharmacy, was sent to the address in Mansfield, Texas, of one of Matthews' former minor league teammates, according to the Internet site.

Last week, federal prosecutors in Rhode Island announced charges in an alleged scheme to illegally prescribe anabolic steroids and human growth hormone to bodybuilders in several states. [YAHOO NEWS, AP]