Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone
has been charged with importing a banned human growth hormone into
Australia.
The actor, 60, was stopped at Sydney airport last month by customs
officials who claim he had 48 vials of a banned substance in his
luggage.
Stallone, who was in Australia to promote recent film Rocky Balboa,
faces a possible fine of A$22,000 (£8,930).
The muscle-building hormone product, Jintropin, is classed as a
performance enhancing drug in Australia.
Such products cannot be imported into Australia without a special
permit.
Prosecution documents handed to a Sydney court on Tuesday said
Stallone had marked "no" on a customs declaration form that asked
if he was bringing restricted substances into the country.
But an X-ray of bags belonging to his entourage uncovered the
bottles of Jintropin, which is made by Chinese firm GeneScience
pharmaceuticals.
"You have not been validly prescribed the goods by a medical
practitioner for any medical condition suffered by you and for
which the goods are recognised medical treatment," Stallone was
told in a customs document submitted to the court.
Stallone and his team were held at Sydney airport for several hours
following the discovery.
The maximum penalty for the offence is A$110,000 (£44,639) and a
five-year prison sentence - Stallone faces a lesser fine because
the case is being prosecuted in a local court.
The actor was not present to hear the charge against him at
Tuesday's hearing.
He is thought to be in Thailand, where he is making his fourth
Rambo film.
At the time, Stallone dismissed the incident as a
"misunderstanding", adding that customs officials were "just doing
their jobs".
"I just didn't understand some of the rules here," he
explained.
