San Diego

A University City doctor was arrested Thursday, accused of illegally selling drugs at his Pacific Beach office, authorities said Friday.

Dr. Henry Chaker was arrested Thursday after a four-month investigation by the state Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, said Philip Donohue, special agent in charge of the San Diego bureau.

“We started the investigation when we received information that he was selling and distributing drugs in his office, but not to patients, at least not in the normal sense of the word,” Donohue said. The bureau was tipped off by different sources, both non-patients and patients of the doctor, Donohue said.

The bureau sent in undercover officers, who bought controlled drugs such as anabolic steroids, stimulants and codeine from the doctor. “In each case, it was like buying from a typical street dealer,” Donohue said.

The office, in the 2100 block of Garnet Avenue, was not the “usual” doctor’s office, Donohue said. “It wasn’t equipped with the normal medical equipment; there was no receptionist and no nurse. It was just him, his desk and all the drugs he was selling.”

Chaker was booked at County Jail downtown on suspicion of illegal sale of a controlled substance, administering drugs without a medical indication and administering drugs outside the scope of medical authorization.

He is being held in lieu of $52,000 bail. Chaker faces a maximum sentence of 13 years in state prison and a fine of $20,000, Donohue said.

Chaker must also appear before the state Medical Licensing Board at an administrative hearing to determine if his medical license will be revoked, Donohue said.