[PumpingIron]

Stallone: I brought hormones into Australia
POSTED: 12:59 a.m. EDT, May 15, 2007

Stallone: I brought hormones into Australia - CNN.com

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Aging Hollywood actor Sylvester Stallone pleaded guilty Tuesday to bringing vials of a restricted muscle-building hormone into Australia.

Lawyers for the 60-year-old star of the "Rocky" and "Rambo" movie franchises entered the guilty plea on behalf of the actor, who did not appear before Sydney's Downing Center Local Court on Tuesday.

In a letter to court Stallone said his importation of banned substance was a "terrible mistake" caused by ignorance of rules.

Stallone was charged with importing a banned substance into Australia after a customs search of his luggage during a February 16 visit to Sydney revealed 48 vials of the human growth hormone product, Jintropin.

Human growth hormone, a naturally occurring substance that can be replicated synthetically and is used to build muscle mass, is considered a performance enhancing drug in Australia and it cannot be imported without a permit from the national drug regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

The maximum penalty for bringing Jintropin into Australia illegally is a fine of 110,000 Australian dollars (US$91,500; euro67,532) and five years in prison, but Stallone faces a maximum penalty of just A$22,000 (US$18,000; euro13,000) because the matter is being heard by a local, not federal, court.

Details of the sentence were not immediately released, and Stallone's lawyers made no immediately comment.

Prosecution documents handed to the court in March said Stallone had marked "No" on a customs declaration card that asked if he was bringing into Australia restricted or prohibited goods "such as medicines, steroids, firearms, weapons, or any kind of illicit drugs."

During his visit to Australia, Stallone shrugged off the airport incident.

"It was just a minor misunderstanding," Stallone told reporters "They were just doing their jobs. I just didn't understand some of the rules here."

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[dsw222]

stallone is a badass... 60 years old and still juicing... that will be me someday

[wastedwhiteboy2]

I'm still waiting for rambo 4.

[PumpingIron]

He man'd up...I'm impressed.

[jminis]

Yeah but it look at his facial feature from all of that GH. None for me thank you.

[xjsynx]

Wonder if him and B Bonds have the same dealer???

I also thought this was funny

"Agius also questioned why, if the drugs were legitimately prescribed, the actor was carrying Jintropin, a Chinese-made human growth hormone product that has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration."

[not_big_enuf]

Originally Posted by jminis

Yeah but it look at his facial feature from all of that GH. None for me thank you.

Stallone looks damn good for 60... what u talkin about willis? He did have a facelift as well... that was good and bad i think...

[PumpingIron]

Originally Posted by not_big_enuf

Stallone looks damn good for 60... what u talkin about willis? He did have a facelift as well... that was good and bad i think...

I think he is talking more about the bone structure which has changed over the years.

[not_big_enuf]

Originally Posted by PumpingIron

I think he is talking more about the bone structure which has changed over the years.

Hmm.. I think it looks similar, to be honest. Am I crazy?