A Hong Kong man has been jailed for four years for his role in a people smuggling ring linked to the deaths of 58 Chinese illegal immigrants in a tomato truck heading for Dover.

Lam Hei-kit, 29, was jailed on Friday after being found guilty of two counts of money laundering, and two counts of possessing passports that were unlawfully obtained.

The immigrants were found suffocated to death in the truck when it arrived at the Kent port from the Netherlands in June 2000.

The tragedy shocked the international community and shed light on the scale of human smuggling by Chinese gangs.

The operation could not have proceeded without his efforts Judge Tong Man

District Court Judge Tong Man described Lam as a key figure in the human smuggling racket which coordinated the Dover operation, the South China Morning Post newspaper said.

"His role was by no means minor," Tong was quoted as saying.

"This international immigrant smuggling operation was very sizeable by any stretch of the imagination. The operation could not have proceeded without his efforts."

Cash deposits

The court heard that sums of US$120,000 and HK$1.78 million (US$228,200) had been deposited into Lam's bank accounts just hours after the discovery in Dover.

More than 120 false travel documents were found during searches of Lam's apartment, the report said.

Several other people have also been jailed over the tragedy.

In the Netherlands, the so-called "brains" behind the operation, Grussel Oezcan, received a 10-and-a-half year jail term.

His right-hand man, Haci Demir, was jailed for five years, because the judges said he had showed remorse.

The lorry driver, Perry Wacker, was sentenced separately to 14 years in jail by a court in England.