A Brisbane amateur bodybuilder has given an alarming insight into so-called’steroid vacations’ where eager athletes head to Thailand to buy supplements that are illegal in Australia. Steroids are sold at a fraction of the price in Thailand, fuelling a vibrant black market and creating serious health and legal risks for users back home.
Chris (not his real name) spent the past ten years living between Brisbane and Pattay, where he owned a gym. He said’steroid holidays’ were becoming more popular because of the easy availability of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs that are banned in his home country. “There are a lot of young guys going over to Thailand because the prices are cheaper, it’s easier to get them over there and then they can take them back over there without getting caught,” he told News Corp.
He added that he was able to purchase anabolic steroids at a pharmacy in Pattay for a fraction of the cost in Australia. He bought 60 Andriol capsules, a 15 day supply that the pharmacist recommended taking with a meal, for only 840 baht. He also purchased Testoviron injections, a 10-day supply for 3,000 baht _ less than half the price of the ampoules advertised online.
Steroids are classified as dangerous drugs in Australia, with possession and supply a criminal offence. The 2011-12 Australian Crime Commission Illicit Drug Data report listed Thailand as a ‘prominent embarkation point’ for steroid smuggling to Australia. Many Australians stockpile the drugs in Thailand and ship them home to avoid the risk of prosecution. One man was caught with 12,000 steroid tablets hidden inside a metal elephant statue passing through Sydney Airport on Boxing Day, and the Cronulla Sharks NRL club was recently rocked by allegations that players were using banned image and performance-enhancing drugs. Steroids Thailand