Thread: ozpharma bust

JOHN Triulcio showed all the motivation and panache to be a successful drug kingpin when he launched his “staggering” anabolic steroids empire.

He began importing kilos of raw chemicals and testosterone, bought himself empty capsules and a filling machine before his homemade steroids hit the Adelaide black market.

His drugs were smuggled into Australia after being hidden inside television cables and hollowed out speakers.

His drive to maintain his cash flow never waned despite his backyard operation being exposed and being subject to strict home detention bail.

Today, his multi-million empire is at an end, after Triulcio, 39, was jailed for masterminding “one of the most significant steroid importation” operations the District Court has encountered.

Australian Border Force officers seized more than 54kg of performance enhancing drugs, worth at least $4.5 million on the streets, in what a judge described as a “staggering” haul.

Triulcio, of West Lakes, in Adelaide’s west, was jailed for six-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to 17 federal drug importing charges.

Months before his December 2014 arrest, Triulcio significantly expanded his illegal operations, purchasing chemicals, equipment and directed an associate to prepare for multiple Chinese shipments.

Federal agents and SA Police detectives raided his home-based “steroid manufacturing laboratory”, seizing 3000 phials of steroids, a kilogram of testosterone and 10 litres of liquid steroids.

While on bail for his home racket, authorities later discovered his extensive importing ring.

Armed with a new phone, he continued managing his empire, advising his business partners that part-payment for a 35kg steroid shipment was due to help restart his lab.

Despite being released on home detention bail, he was arrested on Christmas Eve 2014 for imported 23 consignments of steroids.

The following year, Triulcio imported another 43 shipments of steroids and human growth hormones despite being on a heavily restrictive bail under state law.

His awkward attempts to appear macho in the onlineworld of steroid sales fell flat after his admission to being a “gear supplier” made him the butt of jokes in the underworld.

Operating under the user names “OzPharma” and “Alpha Anabolics”, he received positive reviews for his drugs but was told he sounded “like Joey 6 pack down the street brewing in his kitchen”.

But it was his arrest in August that year for several incidents of domestic violence that custom officers discovered evidence of the “commercially motivated” steroid racket.

During sentencing last month, Judge Paul Muscat revealed how the commercial enterprise then unravelled.


“The profits to have been made by you from the distribution of steroids is staggering and it was clearly the driving factor behind you continuing to offend after your arrest in 2014,” Judge Muscat said.

“Your offending over a 10-month period involved one of the most significant steroid importations that has come before the courts. Before you realised it, you were getting deeper and deeper into your business and ... you saw it is a financially lucrative business.

“It seems to that you were seduced by the ease at which you were able to manufacture and sell your steroids.”

Triulcio will be eligible for parole in August next year.