Melbourne ice dealer Harvey Spence thought he had been "dogged" to police, so he orchestrated the terrifying suffocation of a man whose body was then burnt to ashes.
Spence will spend at least 22 years behind bars for the January 2013 murder of Nhan Ngoc Doan, also known as Kevin Doan.
The pair were associates and Spence thought Mr Doan was a "dog" who had told police about his illegal activities, the Victorian Supreme Court heard on Monday.
Spence forced Mr Doan, who was drug-affected and singing, to get into the boot of a car as they travelled with two others to an East Gippsland property.
Mr Doan, 37, was put on the floor of a shed where Spence said: "You f***ing dog, you gave me out".
Mr Doan's mouth and hands were bound before Spence, holding a rifle, forced an associate to place a plastic bag over Mr Doan's head, suffocating him.
"It must have been a horrible, terrifying death," Justice Michael Croucher said as he sentenced Spence over the "intentional and gruesome" killing.
Speaking about the body, Spence later told others to "just get rid of it".
Mr Doan's body was burnt in a cardboard box and his ashes were dumped in a river.
His remains have never been recovered.
About a month later, Spence told a friend he had done something bad.
"Have you ever smelled the body burning," he asked her, Justice Croucher said.
"There's nothing quite like it," he added, Justice Croucher said.
Mr Doan's family are tormented by the terror he must have suffered, and his mother continues to set a place for him at meal times, the court heard.
Spence, who has a long history of substance abuse, maintained his innocence after a jury found him guilty.
He was sentenced to 27 years in jail, with a non-parole period of 22 years.
Justice Croucher said Spence's crime was a very serious example of murder, but noted he had reasonable prospects of rehabilitation and was unlikely to reoffend in a violent manner.
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