Convicted killer Shannon Tucker has been jailed for eight years over the drugs plot that led to him murdering Matthew Clarke.

Tucker, 33, is already serving a life sentence for the murder, along with his accomplices Vernon Simons, 24, and Kyle Sousa, 18.

His sentence on the drugs matter will run concurrent to that.

The Clarke murder trial heard in April how construction company boss Tucker and his employee Simons blamed Mr. Clarke for allegedly framing them over $450,000-plus worth of cannabis and ecstasy discovered by the authorities in a shipment of machine parts for Tucker's business.

The trio bludgeoned the father-of-two over the head with a metal pole and stabbed him 26 times before leaving him dead in bed in April 2008. Prosecutors told the jury the murder stemmed from the fact that the drug importation plot was busted three months earlier.

Tucker and Simons were said to have blamed 31-year-old Mr. Clarke for them being caught out, and roped in Sousa to help kill him on a promise of $1,000.

Tucker admitted his role in the drug conspiracy during evidence in the murder trial. He formally pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to import cannabis and ecstasy in May on the day he was supposed to go on trial with Simons on those charges.

Simons continued to protest his innocence over the drugs charges, but was found guilty after the trial. The cannabis found in the illegal shipment weighed 8,176 grams (18 pounds) and was worth $408,380 on the streets. There were also 584 ecstacy tablets with a street value of $43,800.

Simons was also due to be sentenced yesterday, but his lawyer, Larry Scott, was said to be detained on other business. Simons claimed he had in fact fired Mr. Scott and wanted to hire another lawyer, so Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons postponed his sentencing to next Friday, October 2.