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Steroid abuse by everyday gym users is skyrocketing with thousands of people caught trying to import the drugs each year.
The amount of steroids being smuggled into the country at airports and through the postal system has more than doubled in the past five years, according to Customs figures.
Customs made 2695 seizures of steroids and growth hormones in the year to July 2010, a 155 per cent increase on the 1054 seizures made in 2004-05.
An explosion of websites selling the drugs with claims of "discrete (sic) shipping" and "no customs" is behind the rise as amateur body builders seek to exploit countries with lax drug regulations.
"The majority of performance-enhancing drugs are detected at the international mail gateways and are generally from internet sites located in overseas jurisdictions which do not exercise the same controls as Australia," a Customs spokesperson said.
Most of the drugs seized are being imported from the US, Thailand, Hong Kong, Bulgaria, China and the UK, Customs said.
The amount of steroids being smuggled into the country at airports and through the postal system has more than doubled in the past five years, according to Customs figures.
Customs made 2695 seizures of steroids and growth hormones in the year to July 2010, a 155 per cent increase on the 1054 seizures made in 2004-05.
An explosion of websites selling the drugs with claims of "discrete (sic) shipping" and "no customs" is behind the rise as amateur body builders seek to exploit countries with lax drug regulations.
"The majority of performance-enhancing drugs are detected at the international mail gateways and are generally from internet sites located in overseas jurisdictions which do not exercise the same controls as Australia," a Customs spokesperson said.
Most of the drugs seized are being imported from the US, Thailand, Hong Kong, Bulgaria, China and the UK, Customs said.
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