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THE international blackmarket in steroids is more robust than ever, with the smuggling of illicit body-building and performance-enhancing drugs into Australia at an all-time high.
Customs figures reveal there were more than 1500 cases of steroid seizures across Australia last year, a jump of 30% on the previous year. A total of 356 cases of steroid smuggling were investigated by customs officers in 2006-07 - more than double the number of inquiries carried out in 2005-06.
The release of the figures to The Sunday Age follows an international sting last year that resulted in the arrest of 29 Australians and 1400 seizures of steroids, growth hormone and other performance and image-enhancing drugs.
In the US, the sting led to the closure of 56 steroid laboratories, the seizure of almost 12 million tablets, 242 kilograms of raw steroid powder, $US6.5 million ($A6.7 million) in cash, and the arrest of 124 people.
However, such successful crackdowns have not deterred smugglers, with customs national manager, investigations, Richard Janeczko, admitting illegal importation was on the rise. He said smugglers were soaking steroids in blotters or hiding them in sachets of tomato sauce, aromatherapy bottles and shampoo.
"As you get people trying to be more sophisticated in their criminality, it becomes a cat-and-mouse game for us to keep up with the methodology," he told The Sunday Age.Mr Janeczko said smugglers brought steroids in for their own use or to sell on the blackmarket. Recent cases had involved steroids smuggled in from China, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Thailand and Abu Dhabi.
The steroids included methenolone, stanozolol, boldenone and methandrostenolone, which cannot be imported into Australia without a permit from the Therapeutic Goods Administration. Some steroids can be purchased here but users need a doctor's prescription.
Actor Sylvester Stallone was apprehended at Sydney Airport in February last year with 48 vials of the human growth hormone Jintropin, which is also banned in the US.
He pleaded guilty to smuggling Jintropin and four vials of testosterone and was ordered
to pay fines and court costs totalling more than $12,000.
"Stallone later said, 'If you want to look young, what's wrong with taking the stuff?', but you'll find the medical evidence is growing as to what damage it can do to people," Mr Janeczko said.
He said the latest steroid smuggling case in Australia involved a national body-builder Nicola (Nick) Ranelli, who pleaded guilty to steroid importation last month after he was caught at Perth International Airport with 348 tablets containing methenolone concealed in a bottle of pain-relief tablets and 246 tablets containing stanozolol hidden in an artificial-sweetener bottle.
A raid on Ranelli's Perth home uncovered three glass vials of boldenone and 373 tablets of methandrostenolone. He was ordered to pay fines and court costs of more than $11,000.
Two of the Australians caught in last year's worldwide sting were a former Mr Australia, Glen Purtell, and his partner, a former Miss World Figure, Diane Shipway.
They pleaded guilty to importing clomifene citrate, and more than 100 vials of human growth hormone and were fined $14,000.
Steroids all the rage in customs swoop | theage.com.au
Customs figures reveal there were more than 1500 cases of steroid seizures across Australia last year, a jump of 30% on the previous year. A total of 356 cases of steroid smuggling were investigated by customs officers in 2006-07 - more than double the number of inquiries carried out in 2005-06.
The release of the figures to The Sunday Age follows an international sting last year that resulted in the arrest of 29 Australians and 1400 seizures of steroids, growth hormone and other performance and image-enhancing drugs.
In the US, the sting led to the closure of 56 steroid laboratories, the seizure of almost 12 million tablets, 242 kilograms of raw steroid powder, $US6.5 million ($A6.7 million) in cash, and the arrest of 124 people.
However, such successful crackdowns have not deterred smugglers, with customs national manager, investigations, Richard Janeczko, admitting illegal importation was on the rise. He said smugglers were soaking steroids in blotters or hiding them in sachets of tomato sauce, aromatherapy bottles and shampoo.
"As you get people trying to be more sophisticated in their criminality, it becomes a cat-and-mouse game for us to keep up with the methodology," he told The Sunday Age.Mr Janeczko said smugglers brought steroids in for their own use or to sell on the blackmarket. Recent cases had involved steroids smuggled in from China, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Thailand and Abu Dhabi.
The steroids included methenolone, stanozolol, boldenone and methandrostenolone, which cannot be imported into Australia without a permit from the Therapeutic Goods Administration. Some steroids can be purchased here but users need a doctor's prescription.
Actor Sylvester Stallone was apprehended at Sydney Airport in February last year with 48 vials of the human growth hormone Jintropin, which is also banned in the US.
He pleaded guilty to smuggling Jintropin and four vials of testosterone and was ordered
to pay fines and court costs totalling more than $12,000.
"Stallone later said, 'If you want to look young, what's wrong with taking the stuff?', but you'll find the medical evidence is growing as to what damage it can do to people," Mr Janeczko said.
He said the latest steroid smuggling case in Australia involved a national body-builder Nicola (Nick) Ranelli, who pleaded guilty to steroid importation last month after he was caught at Perth International Airport with 348 tablets containing methenolone concealed in a bottle of pain-relief tablets and 246 tablets containing stanozolol hidden in an artificial-sweetener bottle.
A raid on Ranelli's Perth home uncovered three glass vials of boldenone and 373 tablets of methandrostenolone. He was ordered to pay fines and court costs of more than $11,000.
Two of the Australians caught in last year's worldwide sting were a former Mr Australia, Glen Purtell, and his partner, a former Miss World Figure, Diane Shipway.
They pleaded guilty to importing clomifene citrate, and more than 100 vials of human growth hormone and were fined $14,000.
Steroids all the rage in customs swoop | theage.com.au
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