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An Australian court has sentenced Tse Chi Lop, the leader of International drug trafficking syndicate, Up to 16 years in jail.
Canadian crime boss Tse, 62, was once compared to Mexican drug lord Pablo Escobar Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was arrested in Amsterdam in 2021 On Interpol notice from Australia.
They were charged with conspiring to smuggle commercial quantities of methamphetamine into Australia.
In a Melbourne court on Thursday, Tse, wearing thick dark glasses and a blue shirt, sat with his head bowed as the judge sentenced him for conspiring to smuggle large quantities of tobacco. Drugs in the country between 2012 and 2013.
He will be eligible for parole after 10 years.
This sentence is much less than the normal sentence of life imprisonment given for such crimes.
Judge Peter Rosen said the sentence was agreed after an “unusual” deal between former Attorney General Michaelia Cash and Dutch authorities, under which Canberra promised Tse would not face the maximum Australian penalty if extradited to the country.
“This investigation highlights the extent to which the long arm of the Australian Federal Police can reach criminals around the world,” Commissioner Chrissie Barrett said in a statement.
The case came to a conclusion after three years of deliberations, with most of the hearings taking place behind closed doors.
Court opened to the public on Thursday and it was revealed that Tse pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges after negotiations with prosecutors.
Tse, who was born in China, led the vast international drug trafficking syndicate Sam Gore, also known as the Company, which allegedly dominated methamphetamine distribution in the Asia-Pacific region.
In 2019, Reuters described Tse – known in Cantonese as Sam Gore and Brother No. 3 – as “Asia’s El Chapo”.
He was reportedly protected by Thai kickboxers.
His syndicate was estimated to make more than £13 billion a year by shipping drugs to at least a dozen countries, from Japan in East Asia to New Zealand in the South Pacific.
Tse once allegedly blew around £5.2 million in a gambling session in Macau, China.
At its peak, his syndicate was the largest trafficker of methamphetamine in Australia, police said.
Tse was arrested at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands on January 22, 2021 while traveling from Taiwan to Canada.
He was extradited to Australia in December 2022 to face drug trafficking charges.