$225M DRUGS TSAR FREE AFTER ONLY SIX YEARS

One of Australia's biggest drug dealers walks free from jail today
after serving a mere six years for masterminding a $225 million
cannabis importation.

Victor Thomas Spink, 59, will be released tonight to join his
girlfriend and young child to enjoy a multimillion-dollar property
portfolio stretching from Byron Bay to Sydney.

The former big-time race tipster and shadowy figure, called Mr C in
the mid-1990s "jockey tapes" scandal, was jailed for captaining a
drug-smuggling ring in 1994.

Spink negotiated to bring 15 tonnes of Pakistani cannabis by boat to
Australia in what was eventually a botched operation.

The maximum penalty under Commonwealth law for the offence is life
imprisonment, and Spink was originally destined to serve about 24 years.

In sentencing him in March 1996, District Court Chief Judge Reg Blanch
slashed Spink's sentence to a maximum of nine years, citing favourable
character evidence, a guilty plea and Spink's loss of money on the
drug deal when boats ran aground and 10 tonnes of the cannabis resin
had to be dumped at sea.

According to a later Court of Appeal report on Justice Blanch's
sentencing, Spink's time behind bars was discounted because he had
"suffered a significant financial loss in terms of wasted outlay in
relation to the criminal venture - and his assets were subject to a
restraining order under Commonwealth legislation".

At the time Spink owned five Byron Bay houses, together worth more
than $1 million. He still owns three, as well as five houses in the
Sydney suburbs of Alexandria, Gordon and Ku-ring-gai.

Justice Blanch cut the sentence by one-third, to 16 years, and then
further cut it because of "other material in the case".

The Court of Appeal report explains this was "because of the other
material relating to assistance to the authorities".

That usually means a person has offered or corroborated incriminating
evidence against other suspects police wish to charge.

The Federal Attorney-General's office, which usually grants automatic
parole to Commonwealth offenders, handed down the papers for Spink's
release last week to the NSW Corrective Services Department.

Spink, who has a criminal history dating back to 1960, has been a
model prisoner.

He served most of his time in Long Bay jail, but as a precautionary
measure was moved to Parramatta jail for a month after a fellow
prisoner tried to sell ecstasy tablets. Spink has since been in
Silverwater jail.

As a C3 (low risk) category prisoner, Spink has enjoyed unaccompanied
work release in the printing industry and, for the past few years,
free weekends on the outside with his partner and child. He is
divorced from his wife.

A property portfolio in his own name is worth millions. He also owns
property under the alias of George Maurice Saunders. Two properties in
that name were the subject of an unsuccessful action by Spink's former
lawyer and friend Chris Murphy to recover more than $500,000 in legal
fees.

Murphy launched an action in the equity division of the Supreme Court
to recover the funds, but it was dismissed last month.