An Adelaide man has been sentenced to more than six and half years jail after an Australian Border Force (ABF) investigation into the illegal importation of Performance and Image Enhancing Drugs (PIED’s) worth up to $4.5 million.
Investigations commenced in 2015 after ABF officers made multiple detections of raw steroid powder in consignments from China at both the Melbourne and Sydney international mail gateways. The goods were addressed to locations in Adelaide.
The 39-year-old man was among eight suspects arrested in August 2015 and was re-arrested three times for similar offences while on bail.
He was ultimately charged with nine counts of importing Performance and Image Enhancing Drugs and eight counts of Importing Human Growth Hormone, relating to a total of 70 consignments. He was sentenced in the South Australian District Court on 13 December 2017 to six years and six months jail with a non-parole period of three years and four months.
Last month his co-accused, a 26-year-old man, pleaded guilty in the South Australia District Court and received a two-and-a-half year suspended sentence.
People with information about the importation and trade of illicit drugs should contact Border Watch by going to www.border.gov.au/borderwatch. By reporting suspicious activities, you help protect Australia’s border. Information can be provided anonymously.