Singaporean Heroin Smuggler Gets 24 Years for Drug Run

The Supreme Court of Victoria in Australia has sentenced the 35 year-old Singaporean Wee Quay Tan to 24 years in prison after he pleaded guilty over playing a significant role in bringing 150 kilos of heroin to Australia on the North Korean-owned ship Pong Su.
     The Pong  Su shipment – worth 165 million USD – is Victoria’s biggest heroin bust to date. Wee Quay Tan was the last of four men who pleaded guilty in the case – two of the other three were jailed for 23 years, and the third got a 22-year sentence.

Death Sentence Awaits in Singapore
Tan’s Australian prison verdict is not the only sentence hanging over his head, however, since his lawyer, Aaron Shwartz, has informed the court that his client is a wanted man in Denmark as well as in Singapore – in both cases because of drug crimes. In Singapore, a potential death sentence might be waiting for Tan once he has completed his 24-year sentence in Australia, according to the Australian newspaper The Herald Sun.
     Consequently, Supreme Court judge Murray Kellam said yesterday that it was highly likely that Australian authorities would deport Tan at the end of his sentence. Should that happen, judge Kellam said that Tan would most likely be deported to Singapore, which may ultimately may end up costing the Singaporean drug smuggler his life.

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