Transnational drug traffickers sentenced in Shaanxi
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-11-19 16:16

A court in northwest China's Shaanxi Province sentenced four drug traffickers to death Thursday.

The Intermediate People's Court of the provincial capital Xi'an ordered death penalty for Yang Naijun, Liu Tianshun and Du Songhua, the three leaders of the province's most notorious drug trafficking case.

The court also sentenced accomplices Li Quanfa to death with two years reprieve and Li Quanxi to 15 years in prison.

The ring transport drugs to the inland province from the southwestern border.

Court investigation shows Yang, a native of Yunnan Province who was living in Myanmar, was paid 600,000 yuan (72,300 US dollars) between Dec. 2003 and Jan. 2004 to buy drugs for Liu, a citizen of Xi'an. Liu, Du and Li smuggled the drugs back to Xi'an on an airplane by hiding it in tins of cakes.

The three were seized by police authorities in Xi'an early in January, when they had just come back from one of these trips and were about to leave the airport. Police found about 7,120 grams of heroin in their car and an additional 3,234 grams later at Liu's home.

Yang was seized in Myanmar on Jan. 14, with concerted efforts of Chinese and international police.

The Xi'an court also ruled that all the four be deprived of political rights and their personal property confiscated.