SALESMAN William Bates was the "Mr Big" in a plot to sell millions of fake anabolic steroids, a jury was told.

The 23-year-old from Beaumont Drive, Bolton, was at the top of the tree, claimed prosecutor Andrew Wheeler at Northampton Crown Court yesterday.

It was Bates who provided the materials and equipment for making the tablets at an isolated location in Northamptonshire, Mr Wheeler claimed.

The jury heard Bates had admitted conspiring to defraud people who might be induced to buy tablets, by pretending they were Pronabol-5, an anabolic steroid.

In the dock, denying the same allegation, were David Sterland, 51, of Husbands Bosworth, Leics, and Harvey Simpson, 37, of Desborough, Northants.

Sterland is managing director of Swift Products, Mill Farm, Great Cransley, Northamptonshire, where the prosecution allege five million fake tablets were made. Simpson is the foreman there.

Mr Wheeler said when the premises were raided by officers of the National Crime Squad in December 1999, they found nearly four million tablets boxed and packaged as Pronabol-5, and machinery for mixing and making them. There were also another million loose tablets. If sold, the potential value was in the region of £600,000 to £900,000.

Earlier, Mr Wheeler said anabolic steroids could be used legitimately for medical conditions. But there was also a darker side -- sportsmen used them for enhancing their performance and so gain an unfair advantage.

Because of this, there was a black market and tablets could change hands for up to £18 for 100.

Mr Wheeler said: "As night follows day, there are those ready to exploit the market. But in this case there is a twist to the facts."

When the tablets seized at Swift Products were analysed, they were found to be fake, with glucose as the main ingredient.

Mr Wheeler said: "We say this was a cynical and dishonest exploitation of the market for steroids. In short, a fraud."

The barrister said neither Sterland nor Simpson knew how to make the tablets, and their attempts to do so were quite extraordinary. Eventually, after referring to a manual and the Internet they came up with the right formula.

When arrested, both men said they did not know what the tablets were going to be used for, or where they were going.

Sterland said he knew that somewhere along the line someone was going to be conned. He also said they were to be paid £7,500. Both denied acting dishonestly.

The trial continues.