American drug smuggler Jon Garlock's jail term slashed after transfer to US

A convicted drug smuggler who was granted a prison transfer from Hong Kong to the United States in 2011 is now free despite having served just a fraction of his 24-year sentence, angering justice officials and lawmakers.

American Jon Randall Garlock, 56, walked out of jail less than five years into his sentence after US justice officials reviewed his case and slashed his jail time to four-and-a-half years.

It is understood justice officials in Hong Kong expressed grave concerns over the case and the city's prison transfer agreement with the US, which has been in place since 1999.

Garlock was arrested at Chep Lap Kok airport in July 2008 after he and another man, Tang Wai-man, were caught with more than 8kg of pure cocaine hidden in four containers labelled protein powder in their luggage.

At the pair's trial in March 2009, Tang pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years and six months' jail. Garlock pleaded not guilty, but a jury convicted him and he was sent to prison for 24 years by Madam Justice Clare-Marie Beeson.

He was sent to the maximum-security Shek Pik prison on Lantau Island and did not appeal against his sentence.