Senior WA drug dealer jailed for 23 years

A senior figure in a "well orchestrated" Perth drug syndicate has been sentenced to 23 years behind bars while his courier has been jailed for 14 years.

Marc Quaid, 39, was convicted by a jury in May of two counts of selling and supplying a total of more than 12 kilograms of methylamphetamine.

Roberto Zanon, 51, was also found guilty of one count of selling and supplying 8.75kg of methylamphetamine.

The Perth District Court heard on Friday that the drug purity was up to 75 per cent and was worth millions of dollars.

Judge Bruce Goetze said Zanon was the courier and Quaid was near the top of the operation.

"You played a significant role in the drug distribution in Western Australia," he said.

Judge Goetze said the pair were involved in the crime for financial gain and the drugs would probably have been diluted before being sold to users.

He said personal and general deterrence were important considerations for sentencing.

Judge Goetze said while Quaid claimed to be remorseful and had written a letter to the court pleading for mercy, he seemed to be more sorry for himself.

The judge accepted that jailing Quaid, a father of three, would affect his children, but said it was not a reason to reduce the sentence.

In a letter, Quaid's fiancee said the offending was out of character and she could not explain it.

She gasped when his sentence was handed down and cried in court.

The judge also noted that drug offences often filled court lists and affected the community.

"Drugs are the scourge of our society," he said.

Quaid and Zanon have been declared drug traffickers.

Both will be eligible for parole.

Quaid's brother Fabian, a childhood friend of disgraced West Coast Eagles captain Ben Cousins, is serving a 17-year sentence for conspiring to traffic 44kg of methylamphetamine.