A Lebanese man pleaded guilty to smuggling 1,364 ampoules of anabolic steroids into Australia. Youssef Amoud was ordered to pay more than $23,000 in fines and penalties by the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney. The Lebanese citizen attempted to smuggle over a thousand ampoules of Testosterone Enanthate manufactured by the Iranian Aburaihan Company into Australia while traveling on a temporary visa. Amoud was busted on January 23, 2009 after arriving at the Sydney International Airport on a flight originating out of Lebanon (“$23,000 penalty for smuggling steroids,” March 11).
A Customs and Border Protection investigation led to Mr Youssef Amoud being charged with importing prohibited imports contrary to section 233(1)(b) and making a false statement contrary to section 234(1)(d)(i) of the Customs Act 1901.
Customs and Border Protection officers conducted a search of Mr Amoud’s baggage, acting on a referral from the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, when he arrived at Sydney International Airport on a flight from Lebanon on Friday 23 January 2009.
The anabolic steroid ampoules were discovered during a search of Amoud’s luggage hidden in several areas including the base of a table lamp, a toy clock and a digital box receiver. Australian Customs and Border Protection performed laboratory analysis on the liquid substance and confirmed that the ampoules contained testosterone enanthate as indicated by the writing on the actual ampoules. The 1,364 testosterone ampoules confiscated were purportedly valued at almost $23,000 on the street.
Australian Customs has likely identified Lebanon as a “hot” country for steroid smuggling based on recent steroid seizures originating on flights from Lebanon. In February 2009, Australian Customs caught a Lebanese man and an Australian woman attempting to smuggle a total of almost 3,000 ampoules of injectable testosterone enanthate and almost 5,000 oral steroid tablets in their luggage.
About the author
Millard writes about anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs and their use and impact in sport and society. He discusses the medical and non-medical uses of anabolic-androgenic steroids while advocating a harm reduction approach to steroid education.
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