total of 30 years.

The trio were part of a smuggling ring involving illegal aliens which saw a rusty freighter seized off Bermuda by the US Coast Guard.

Sang Li, Ben Lin and Mao Bing Mu, of the People's Republic of China, received 12, ten and eight year sentences respectively.

They were charged with conspiring and attempting to knowingly bring illegal aliens into the US for private financial gain and conspiring and attempting to knowingly bring aliens into the US at a place other than a designated port of entry.

The three were convicted after a two-week trial before US District Judge Robert E. Keeton during which the court heard the tale of the Xing Da , a ship that travelled 54 days from the People's Republic of China to the US with a total of 109 illegal aliens on board.

The court heard that Lin was the captain of the vessel, Li was responsible for recruiting passengers for the trip and that Li and Mu were enforcers on the Xing Da .

Upon arrival in the US, each passenger was supposed to pay the smugglers some $25,000 apiece which they would borrow at high interest rates and pay back over a period of years by working in the US.

During the voyage the 109 aliens were kept in the hold of the ship and were given meagre portions of food and water.

When the aliens tried to take more food and water than was allotted to them, they were beaten by Li, Mu and others.

The Xing Da was supposed to rendezvous with a fishing boat off the coast of Bermuda which would off-load the aliens and take them to the US.

However the owner of the boat that had been hired was actually an undercover agent for the Immigration and Naturalisation Service and when the Xing Da arrived at the prearranged rendezvous point on October 2, 1996, it was met by the US Coast Guard.

Judge Keeton increased each man's sentence yesterday because he found that the passengers on the Xing Da were subjected to dangerous and inhumane treatment.

He further lengthened Mu and Li's sentences because they lied about their ages when they were arrested. Li's was increased even further because he had attempted to obstruct justice by threatening a witness during the trial.

The three men are the last members of the smuggling ring to be sentenced. Four other defendants, who pleaded guilty before the trial, were previously sentenced by Judge Keeton.

Ju Lin received six years and six months while Hui Lin, Nai Fook Li and Yiu Ming Kwan were sentenced to seven, six and three years respectively.