Sydney  - An Indonesian man was jailed Tuesday for his part in bringing 300 illegal immigrants to Australia by boat in 1999.

Achmad Olong, 42, was the owner of a boat that took 353 people, mostly Iraqis, from Indonesia to a reef off the far-north coast. The boat was apprehended by the Navy and the illegal immigrants taken ashore.

Olong was arrested eight years later while on holiday in Thailand and extradited to Australia. He pleaded guilty in a Darwin court and was sentenced to a maximum of five years in jail. (dpa)