Life jail for 100kg ecstasy haul
November 15, 2002
A MAN convicted of importing more than 100kg of ecstasy tablets into
Australia has been jailed for life.
English-born James Neale, 56, was found guilty by a jury in the New South Wales District Court last year of being knowingly concerned with importing a commercial quantity of drugs in 2000.
The court heard about 105kg of ecstasy tablets were discovered by customs officers hidden in the bottom of 20 cases of wine from France.
Neale, a Hong Kong resident, claimed he was forced to go along with the importation because of threats from Triad gangs.
But today, District Court Judge Penelope Hock said Neale was an intelligent, manipulative and calculating man who was a principal in the importation.
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