WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- Federal drug officials say they 've arrested 124 people and busted 56 labs in the largest illegal steroid investigation in U.S. history . The Drug Enforcement Administration says it busted 56 steroid labs in 27 states . The 18-month investigation , dubbed `` Operation Raw Deal , '' targeted traffickers who allegedly imported raw materials from China and used them to make anabolic steroids , human growth hormone and insulin growth factor , the Drug Enforcement Administration said . `` Today we reveal the truth behind the underground steroid market : dangerous drugs cooked up all too often in filthy conditions with no regard to safety , giving Americans who purchase them the ultimate raw deal , '' DEA Administrator Karen Tandy said in a statement . Authorities made arrests in 27 states , including busts in Los Angeles , California ; New York City ; San Diego , California ; Providence , Rhode Island ; and Kansas City , Missouri . They seized more than 530 pounds of raw materials and 11.4 million steroid dosage units in the United States , officials said , enough to supply hundreds of users . Most of the arrests were made between Thursday and Sunday , the DEA said . Chinese authorities cooperated with the investigation , which targeted 37 companies in China , the DEA said . So far , one Chinese lab has been shut down , officials said . The Chinese `` have done everything '' they were asked to do , said DEA spokesman Rusty Payne . Watch DEA officials say bust is only the beginning » . The operation , according to the DEA , also cracked down on underground trafficking of counterfeit medications as well as Web sites that were distributing materials that helped in converting raw steroid ingredients into the finished product . `` DEA successfully attacked the illegal steroid industry at every level of its distribution network-from the manufacturers in China who supply the raw materials , to the traffickers in the United States who market the deadly doses , '' the DEA statement said . Besides China , other countries which cooperated in the operation included Mexico , Canada , Belgium , Australia , Germany , Denmark , Sweden and Thailand , officials said . E-mail to a friend .
Authorities arrest 124 people , shut down 56 labs . - The US government announces a new plan to fight the Ebola virus in West Africa. China cooperates with probe , shuts down one lab .