Stallone charged in Australia over growth drugs

AFP, March, 2007

SYDNEY (AFP) — Hollywood muscleman Sylvester Stallone was charged in an Australian court Tuesday with carrying banned body-building drugs used to disguise the ravages of age.

The 60-year-old "Rocky" and "Rambo" star was absent when the Australian Customs Service accused him of trying to bring 48 vials of human growth hormone into the country during a visit last month.

The key ingredient in the drugs was somatropin, advertised on the Internet as enhancing sexual performance, reducing body fat, removing wrinkles, boosting muscle mass and for the "re-generation of major organs that shrink with age."

Stallone was in Australia to promote "Rocky Balboa", the latest instalment in his series about a Philadelphia boxer.

The maximum penalty for the offence is...