Former Queensland ADF soldier Joshua Stavarakis caught with cocaine and roids at Puckapunyal

A soldier has been blasted from the army after he was caught with cocaine, roids and a pill press at Puckapunyal.

Former Queensland ADF soldier Joshua Stavarakis was caught with drugs and a pill press at Puckapunyal army base.

A former soldier claimed he used steroids to treat a sore ankle and he kept a secret pill press at his army base for “good health”.

Joshua Stavarakis, 19, was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court last week after pleading guilty to drug possession.

Stavarakis was nabbed with cocaine, steroids and a pill press stashed at his dorm at the Puckapunyal army base.

The court heard Military Police allegedly found drugs and other contraband at the base before referring the matter to Victoria Police.

Investigators raided Stavarakis’s dorm and seized cocaine, cannabis oil, testosterone, 11 bags of steroids and a pill press earlier this year.

Police found the illicit contraband stashed in a secret mattress hole and under some dorm drawers.

Stavarakis told police the substance found under the drawers was “injectable testosterone”.

Living in accommodation at Puckapunyal.

Stavarakis also admitted “making alterations to his mattress” where he stashed pills and a pill press in a “slip hole”.

Police quizzed Stavarakis why he had a pill press at an army base and he responded for “good health”.

“Vitamins, good health, instead of buying pre-made … these ones (homemade pills) are better,” Stavarakis told police.

The court heard Stavarakis, who joined the ADF straight after high school, possessed the banned substances because he was treating an ankle tendon injury.

Stavarakis, who was discharged from the army after the drug bust, claimed his injury flared up after he was placed at Puckapunyal in June this year.

Stavarakis, who had been in the army for three months before he was shifted to Puckapunyal for training, said the injury was aggravated by “all the marching”.

Stavarakis, of Queensland, has since gained his excavator ticket and plans to work at the mines, the court was told.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Tim Bourke said Stavarakis had “made a pretty stupid mistake”.

“It has ruined your whole career as far as the discharge from the army is concerned,” Deputy Chief Magistrate Bourke said.

“(The offending) has resulted in a loss of your reputation for a start, despite your reputation being very fresh … it’s a massive impact on your life …

“You can’t use this as a basis to fail as you move further in your life … soldiers are taught about discipline, they’re taught about being hard …

“Don’t beat yourself up because you’ve made a stupid decision … there is no reason at all why you can’t move on with your life, with this mark against your name, in a positive manner …

“Get over it, get on with it, suck it up … you’ve made a dumb decision.”

Stavarakis was handed a five-month good behaviour bond without conviction and fined $750.