Australian convicted again for steroids he claims cops missed in his original bust.

An Albury fitness centre owner and former world powerlifting champion was yesterday fined for possessing steroids he claimed were missed in a police raid seven years ago.

Lawrence Maxwell Butler pleaded guilty in Albury Local Court to possessing anabolic or androgenic steroids.

Butler, 64, of Rose Street, Lavington, is the owner-operator of the Supershape fitness centre.

He was charged after a raid on the premises about 10.15am on January 20.

Officers found 23 pink tablets and 69 white-beige capsules in a plastic bag in the office.

The search was videoed and audio recorded.

Butler, who arrived at the gym after the raid began, said the stanozol steroids had been there before police last raided the premises in 2004.

The pink tablets were an anabolic steroid bodybuilders use to increase muscle mass which Butler said he had bought years ago.

When magistrate Gordon Lerve asked Butler why he had them he said: “they were basically left over from a search seven years ago”.

“I did not know they were there. They are useless.

“They are way past their use-by date and I don’t take them any more.”

Butler said he had a lot of supplements at the gym.

Mr Lerve convicted Butler, fined him $500 and ordered the steroids destroyed.

Butler was jailed from the District Court in 2005 after pleading guilty to seven charges — six of importing under the Commonwealth Customs Act.

Four charges involved pseudoephedrine and one ephedrine.

He imported 56,000 pseudoephedrine tablets and recruited up to 10 people to receive packages of tablets described as vitamins between January and April 2004.

Judge Phillip Bell sentenced Butler to two years and three months jail.

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