AN illegal immigrant living in Robinvale says he started trafficking methamphetamine to pay off a hospital bill and to make ends meet.

Malaysian man Tiong Wei Kang will spend three months in jail before being deported, after he pleaded guilty to trafficking the drug ice, before Mildura Magistrates' Court last Wednesday.

About 5.15am on October 29 police searched Kang's home in Carrington Street,...