DRUG traffickers arrested in Hong Kong trying to export ice to Australia are feeling the heat of the law as judges enforce new sentencing guidelines that rank ice as more dangerous than heroin. 
In Hong Kong, a person found guilty of trying to traffic more than 600g of ice faces 23 years in jail, plus a further two years for the "international element" - meaning a plan to traffic beyond Hong Kong and China.
Australian Federal Police earlier this year expanded its co-operation with Hong Kong authorities and yesterday announced that China and Australia would form a joint taskforce to help stem the flow of ice.
About 70 per cent of the world's ice is made in China and shipped through Hong Kong. Unlike the mainland, Hong Kong does not carry the death penalty, but many cases dealt with in the past 12 months reflect the judiciary's zero-tolerance stand.Traffickers caught carrying more than 600g of ice can only hope for a reduction to 17 years if they enter an -immediate guilty plea.