Roger Rogerson (left) and Glen McNamara during their trial for the murder of Jamie Gao during an "inept" drug rip-off. "The joint criminal enterprise to which each offender was a party was extensive in its planning, brutal in its execution, and callous in its aftermath," Justice Bellew said during his sentencing remarks before the NSW Supreme Court on Friday. The pair were also given a minimum nine-year sentence for the supply of a prohibited drug. Upon hearing the life sentence handed down, Mr Gao's family released a statement, saying the life sentence was everything they had hoped for. "To have these two men, who took Jamie from us, sentenced to essentially die in jail, is absolutely fitting," they said.

Jamie Gao. Credit:Facebook "The courts can't lessen the term of Jamie's death or the impact that his death, the investigation and ensuing trial has had on our family. Unfortunately, there is no opportunity for a lesser sentence for Jamie or for those of us left behind." During his sentencing remarks Justice Bellew noted Mr Gao had been killed by two former police officers. Lucy McNamara tries to evade the media after Friday's sentencing. Credit:Anthony Johnson "Aspects of their commission of these crimes reflect the fact the offenders put to use, for all the wrong reasons, knowledge and experience that they gained as a consequence of their investigation of criminal offences when they were members of the police force," he said.

Upon learning his fate, an apparently emotionless Rogerson hobbled down the stairs in his prison greens with corrective service officers to the cells below the historic Darlinghurst court complex. Rogerson's lawyer George Thomas speaks to the media after the sentencing on Friday. Credit:Anthony Johnson The joint criminal enterprise … was extensive in its planning, brutal in its execution and callous in its aftermath. Justice Geoffrey Bellew McNamara said to his teary family "be strong": his daughter Jessica responded by blowing kisses. During an 18-week trial, a jury heard how Rogerson and McNamara had spent months planning the murder of Mr Gao to steal 2.78 kilograms of the drug ice from him.

Jessica McNamara, here seen outside the court, apparently blew kisses to her father during the sentencing. Credit:Anthony Johnson Mr Gao was shot dead and stuffed into a silver surfboard bag then dumped at sea. His body was found floating off the shore of Cronulla several days later. "The disposal of the deceased's body at sea was both cruel and insensitive. It was done solely for the purpose of the offenders endeavouring to ensure that the deceased would never be found, rendering it all the more difficult for any responsibility to ever be attributed to either of them," Justice Bellew said. During the sentencing hearing the court heard how on the day of the murder, Mr Gao was captured on CCTV footage going into unit 803 at Padstow Rent-a-Space, with McNamara. A little more than three minutes later, Rogerson walked into the shed.

At some point, Mr Gao was shot dead although Rogerson and McNamara blamed one another. Rogerson told the court that McNamara told him there had been a struggle, and that Mr Gao had shot himself twice in the chest. But McNamara said he was by himself with Mr Gao inside the shed when Rogerson opened the door and demanded the victim hand over the "gear". Mr Gao pulled out a combat-style knife and, simultaneously, Rogerson produced a gun and fired two shots. McNamara said Rogerson then aimed the gun at his head and threatened to kill him and his daughters if he did not help dispose of the body.

Justice Bellew rejected both of their accounts but said he could not find beyond reasonable doubt who had pulled the trigger. "The deceased was executed in cold blood, just as the offenders had planned. Clearly, one of them shot the deceased. There is an obvious suspicion, arising from the evidence of the presence of gunshot residue on his clothing, that it was Rogerson who did so," he said. "Whilst I am satisfied that the deceased was shot by one of the offenders whilst in storage unit 803, I am unable to determine which offender was responsible." The jury accepted the pair were part of a joint criminal enterprise, finding them both guilty of murder and commercial supply of a prohibited drug in June. Loading

After the sentence was handed down, McNamara's solicitor Ali Abbas told a waiting media pack that he would be lodging an appeal against the conviction and sentence on Monday. Rogerson's barrister George Thomas also flagged the possibility of an appeal against the life sentence.