Mackay powerlifter Farren Harold sentenced for cocaine and testosterone possession

Farren Harold had seen doctors to seek treatment for his medical condition, but when he couldn’t get them legally, he took to the dark web to buy a kilo of illegal drugs.

A Shoal Point father was driven to buy a kilo of Saudi Arabian testosterone to treat a medical deficiency after years of knock-backs from doctors.

Farren Anthony Harold had suffered from the symptoms of his undisclosed condition for years, undertaking pathology tests and visiting general practitioners who declined to write the 39-year-old powerlifter a prescription.

Mackay police were alerted to a suspicious package that was en route for Harold’s Shoal Point home.

On October 7 2021, couriers discovered two heat-sealed bags containing testosterone within a package from Saudi Arabia.

Days later, on October 26, a second package containing testosterone was also signed for by his wife at their home.

That day, police executed a search warrant at the home, where Harold co-operated with police and directed them to a quantity of testosterone in his bedside drawers.

Farren Anthony Harold had suffered with low-testosterone for years before accessing the drug from Saudi Arabia to treat his symptoms. Picture: Facebook

Harold told police he bought the drugs on a website for $2000 worth of Bitcoin.

Crown Prosecutor Joshua Phillips said Harold had a “legitimate medical issue” which required “a legitimate medical treatment” involving the authorised taking of testosterone, and had made attempts for rehabilitation.

Justice Graeme Crow said Harold had also received advice from a specialist who advised him not to self medicate with testosterone.

“There’s no commercial aspect in this case,” Justice Crow said.

“It’s not as if this kilogram is coming in as what you’d ordinarily expect to be distributed among the gymnasiums among Mackay so the young men of Mackay can look like those chaps on TV with bulging biceps … and have all the problems that come with it.

“But that’s not this case.

“You’ve got an excellent work history and you’re a responsible person with no criminal history.”

Harold pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a dangerous drug, and the possession of a small quantity of cocaine found in his wallet – which was given to him at a football game.

He was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, wholly suspended, and an operational period of two years.