Stallone fined for illegal hormone

Updated 08.21 Mon May 21 2007

Keywords: Australia, Rambo, Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone has been ordered to pay A$13,000 (£5,400) by an Australian court for illegally taking 48 vials of human growth hormone into the country.

The court heard that 60-year-old Stallone told customs he was prescribed the prohibited hormone to make his ageing body look good while filming his latest Rambo movie in Asia.

Stallone was charged with importing a prohibited substance in February during a three-day visit to Sydney

"This stuff gives your body a boost and you feel and look good," Stallone said in a customs interview. "Doing Rambo is hard work and I am going to be in Burma for a while. Where do you think I am going to get this stuff in Burma?"

Stallone was charged with importing a prohibited substance in February during a three-day visit to Sydney to promote his new film, Rocky Balboa. Stallone then flew to Thailand to shoot the Rambo movie.

The Hollywood star apologised last week to Australian authorities after he pleaded guilty to the charges.

His lawyer said Stallone was taking the hormone under doctors' supervision for an undisclosed medical condition.

"This is not some back-alley body builder dealing covertly with some banned substance in some sort of secret way," his lawyer Phillip Boulten told an earlier court hearing.

Stallone was not in court as the Deputy Chief Magistrate for New South Wales Paul Cloran imposed the fine and ordered him to pay court costs. The maximum fine for the offence is A$110,000 (£45,900).

Mr Cloran said Stallone had tried to deceive customs by claiming to have a prescription for the human growth hormone, Jintropin.

But Jintropin was not legally available for retail use in the US and therefore could not be prescribed, said Mr Cloran.