Five drug traffickers sentenced in China; two get death

Five drug traffickers were sentenced in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou on Tuesday, with two of them getting the death penalty while the others received jail terms.

Xia Shenghua from Wenzhou and Lin Hongyan from the southern province of Guangdong were sentenced to death after being convicted of selling and transporting drugs, the court ruled.

Xia and his girlfriend Wu Ye went to Guangdong in July last year to buy three kilograms of methamphetamine and 150 grams of heroin from other smugglers, the Wenzhou Municipal Intermediate People's Court heard.

The duo were detained by Wenzhou police on July 15 as soon as they returned from Guangdong along with Lin as a middleman, and their drugs were confiscated, the court heard.

Lin also introduced drug dealers to Shao Xiaoyuan and Dai Shaozhu in Wenzhou to help them make drug purchases.

Shao was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, Wu was jailed for life and Dai received a prison term of seven years.

Xia, Shao and Wu already had criminal convictions for drug smuggling, so they received a severe punishment, judges said.

According to Chinese criminal law, those who smuggle, sell, transport or manufacture opium of more than 1 kg, or heroin or methamphetamine of more than 50 grams can be sentenced to 15 years in jail, life imprisonment or even death.