Australian cops ‘will die in jail’ for cold-blooded drug deal murder of Chinese student with alleged links to Hong Kong triads

Two corrupt former Australian police officers were jailed for life yesterday for the murder of a drug-dealing Chinese student with alleged Hong Kong triad links at the end of a sensational trial which reignited concerns that the city has become a key narcotics trafficking hub.

Unconfirmed Australian ­media reports said Gao came to Hong Kong – before he was shot dead in a Sydney warehouse with two bullets to the chest – to ­arrange a 2.78kg consignment of methamphetamine – commonly known as Ice or crystal meth – with senior triads in the city.

Police last night declined to comment on the case which yet again has highlighted the key role organised crime groups in the city play in the multibillion-dollar methamphetamine smuggling business between Hong Kong and Australia.

Since 2006, at least 27 ­Hongkongers have been arrested trying to smuggle HK$15 billion worth of meth into the country. And the amount of the drug seized at Australian ports and airports having arrived from the city is ­almost triple that from the rest of the world.

Gao, who was a student at the University of Technology in Sydney, had been called to give evidence before a secret hearing at the Australian Crime Commission in the weeks before his death.