Indonesian gets 20 years in Perth

Indonesian gets 20 years in Perth

PERTH, Australia: An Indonesian businessman who organized the import into Australia of more than six kilograms (13 pounds) of the designer drug known as ice, has received a 20-year jail term.

Kim Tjeng Tan, 50, was sentenced by Justice Geoffrey Miller in the Supreme Court of Western Australia, The West Australian reported Friday.

He was ordered to serve a minimum of 10 years -- starting at the time of his arrest in October,1999 -- before possible release.

The street value of the ice was estimated by the prosecution to be US$3.75 million.

Miller said that while Tan might not have been at the top of the chain of command, he was an indispensable part of what was a professional job.

The court heard that Tan supplied drugs to couriers in a Singapore hotel and then flew with them on the same flight to Perth.