AUSTRALIA: Actor Sylvester Stallone pleads guilty to importing a banned growth hormone into Australia

Sylvester Stallone, star of the Rocky movie series, pleads guilty at a Sydney local court to importing a banned growth hormone into Australia. Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone pleaded guilty on Tuesday (May 15) and apologised for illegally importing 48 vials of banned human growth hormone into Australia. Stallone's lawyer, Phillip Boulten, told a Sydney court that Stallone admitted to two charges of importing a prohibited substance when he arrived at Sydney airport from the United States in February on a promotional tour. Boulten also said Stallone's apology to the court was an apology in broad terms, meant to convey both to the general public, the community, and to the justice system itself, his regret. Stallone, 60, was not in the court for the hearing, during which the court was told the actor threw four vials of testosterone out of a Sydney hotel window during a later raid on his room by Customs officers. He will be sentenced on Monday (May 21). Government prosecutor David Agius told the court that Stallone's actions suggested he was aware he had broken the law. But, Boulten said Stallone was taking hormone under doctors' supervision for a medical condition that was not revealed in court. Boulten added that the situation had caused a great deal of discomfort to the actor. The Australian Customs Service charged Stallone with two counts of importing a prohibited item when he was detained at Sydney airport on Feb. 16. Customs said the 48 vials of prohibited human growth hormone were found in his luggage. The maximum fine for the offence is A$110,000 ($91,600 U.S.). Stallone left Australia on February 19, after a three-day visit to promote his new film, Rocky Balboa, bound for Thailand to shoot his latest Rambo movie.

ITN Source | May 15, 2007

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