French police have broken up a Marseille-based international doping ring thought to be the biggest in Europe, the government said on Saturday.

The group sold anabolic steroids over the Internet in Europe and the United States, counting nearly 10,000 customers in France alone, the French Sports Ministry said.

A judicial source said the group had nearly 200,000 clients in Europe for its steroids, which are used for developing muscle bulk.

Three people from the southern French city of Marseille have been put under judicial investigation for their part in the ring, which obtained the drugs from labs in Cyprus, China and Turkey, the source said.

Large sums of money were discovered at the homes of two of the men and investigators believe that the operation was making 1,000 euros ($1, 400) a day in Marseille alone.

An international police sweep was carried out against the ring on December 7 and investigators have also uncovered money laundering operations in Germany and the Netherlands.

(Reporting by Jean-Francois Rosnoblet and Leigh Thomas; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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