SYDNEY - Two US sailors were sentenced to a total of more than 18 years in jail by an Australian court yesterday for attempting to smuggle drugs into Australia on board a US Navy ship, Australian media reported.
A court in Townsville in the northeastern Queensland state heard that 11
kg of methamphetamine, commonly known as "ice", valued at about A$1 million were hidden in the radar compartment of the USS Boxer last July.
The drugs were taken ashore by sailor Andrew Labanon and given to Chief Petty Officer Daniel Maio in a Townsville motel, Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio reported.
Maio and a third man, Iranian-born Canadian Mehdi Mohammadi, then disguised the drugs as a child's birthday present and attempted to travel to Queensland's Gold Coast before they were arrested by Australian police.
Maio, who changed his plea to guilty during the trial, was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in jail, with a non-parole period of six years.
Judge Kerry Cullinane sentenced Labanon to six years jail, ordering him to serve to serve at least three years before parole was possible.
Mohammadi was given the harshest sentence of 14 years, with a minimum non-parole period of seven years, the ABC said.
- REUTERS
