[h=1]Bodybuilder Peter James Russell jailed for illegally importing growth hormones, steroids and ‘testicle shrinking’ pills into Australia[/h]
[FONT="]A BODYBUILDER has been jailed over an international importation racket to smuggle illegal growth hormones and steroids into the country — along with drugs to combat shrinking testicles.
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[FONT="]Peter James Russell pleaded guilty to 51 charges relating to the importation of the prohibited drugs from the United Kingdom to Adelaide post boxes between March and October 2015.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Russell, 37, was a former promising rugby player who was selected in the squad for a Northern Territory side before it folded, and suffered low self-esteem before starting to use steroids in his late 20s.[/FONT]
A sample of the seized steroids. Source: Australian Border Force[FONT="]District Court judge Paul Cuthbertson said Russell was instrumental in having 50 shipments of steroids, human growth hormones and human chorionic gonadotropin, or HCG — which he said was “used to offset the reduction in testicular size occasioned by the use of steroids”.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Judge Cuthbertson said the years of steroid abuse had taken a physical toll on Russell, who was now legally using one of the substances he was arrested over.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“As a result of the use of steroids he is now prescribed HCG, which is used to counteract the effects of the use of steroids on his testicles,” he said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Another man, Blake Andrew Dunk, was also arrested but pleaded guilty to a single charge of importing prohibited goods.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Dunk, 26, was tasked with collecting a delivery and allowing Russell to use a bank account in his name.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Judge Cuthbertson said Dunk had stopped using steroids and released him without penalty on the condition he adhere to a two-year good behaviour bond.[/FONT]
[FONT="]But he found there was no other option but to impose a prison term on Russell, who went to elaborate lengths to conceal his involvement in the scheme.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“He organised the deliveries, including contacting the sources. He marketed and sold the substances in Australia and handled a significant amount of money as a result,” the judge said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Russell used a number of false names, email addresses and had 14 mobile phones when Australian Border Force investigators raided his home in November 2015.[/FONT]
Peter James Russell pleaded guilty to 51 charges in relation to importing prohibited drugs.[FONT="]“He marked out the locations of surveillance cameras of parcel collection points and arranged for parcels to be delivered to different locations on each occasion so as to avoid suspicion,” Judge Cuthbertson said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Russell became involved in the racket when he met a Pakistani doctor, who helped arrange shipments of the drugs from the UK to Adelaide, unaware ABF investigators were closely watching the packages.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In exchange for his help, Russell received some of the drugs for his personal use, sold others, and was paid $50 for each parcel he sent on.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Judge Cuthbertson jailed Russell for three years, with a non-parole period of two years and ruled the offending too serious to suspend the term or order it be served on home detention.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Australian Border Force investigations commander Mark Antill said the case should serve as a warning to anyone plotting to import illegal items or substances.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“These drugs could have serious health impacts for users and the Australian Border Force is committed to protecting our community by stamping out the illicit importation of the dangerous drugs,” he said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]A BODYBUILDER has been jailed over an international importation racket to smuggle illegal growth hormones and steroids into the country — along with drugs to combat shrinking testicles.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Peter James Russell pleaded guilty to 51 charges relating to the importation of the prohibited drugs from the United Kingdom to Adelaide post boxes between March and October 2015.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Russell, 37, was a former promising rugby player who was selected in the squad for a Northern Territory side before it folded, and suffered low self-esteem before starting to use steroids in his late 20s.[/FONT]
A sample of the seized steroids. Source: Australian Border Force[FONT="]District Court judge Paul Cuthbertson said Russell was instrumental in having 50 shipments of steroids, human growth hormones and human chorionic gonadotropin, or HCG — which he said was “used to offset the reduction in testicular size occasioned by the use of steroids”.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Judge Cuthbertson said the years of steroid abuse had taken a physical toll on Russell, who was now legally using one of the substances he was arrested over.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“As a result of the use of steroids he is now prescribed HCG, which is used to counteract the effects of the use of steroids on his testicles,” he said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Another man, Blake Andrew Dunk, was also arrested but pleaded guilty to a single charge of importing prohibited goods.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Dunk, 26, was tasked with collecting a delivery and allowing Russell to use a bank account in his name.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Judge Cuthbertson said Dunk had stopped using steroids and released him without penalty on the condition he adhere to a two-year good behaviour bond.[/FONT]
[FONT="]But he found there was no other option but to impose a prison term on Russell, who went to elaborate lengths to conceal his involvement in the scheme.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“He organised the deliveries, including contacting the sources. He marketed and sold the substances in Australia and handled a significant amount of money as a result,” the judge said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Russell used a number of false names, email addresses and had 14 mobile phones when Australian Border Force investigators raided his home in November 2015.[/FONT]
Peter James Russell pleaded guilty to 51 charges in relation to importing prohibited drugs.[FONT="]“He marked out the locations of surveillance cameras of parcel collection points and arranged for parcels to be delivered to different locations on each occasion so as to avoid suspicion,” Judge Cuthbertson said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Russell became involved in the racket when he met a Pakistani doctor, who helped arrange shipments of the drugs from the UK to Adelaide, unaware ABF investigators were closely watching the packages.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In exchange for his help, Russell received some of the drugs for his personal use, sold others, and was paid $50 for each parcel he sent on.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Judge Cuthbertson jailed Russell for three years, with a non-parole period of two years and ruled the offending too serious to suspend the term or order it be served on home detention.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Australian Border Force investigations commander Mark Antill said the case should serve as a warning to anyone plotting to import illegal items or substances.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“These drugs could have serious health impacts for users and the Australian Border Force is committed to protecting our community by stamping out the illicit importation of the dangerous drugs,” he said.[/FONT]