China court sentences 3 drug dealers to death, jails 18

A court in southeast China's Fujian Province said Wednesday that it has sentenced three men to death for drug trafficking.

The Intermediate People's Court of the city of Ningde ruled that Long Zhong, Zhu Zhenqin and Lin Guangshou were guilty of selling heroin, methamphetamine and ketamine from May 2011 to March 2012.

According to the court's order, Long will be executed immediately after the Supreme People's Court endorses his death sentence. Zhu and Lin were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve.

The defendants and their lawyers were not immediately available for comment.

The court upheld evidence showing that Long had supplied Zhu and Lin with 1.1 kilograms of heroin, 234 grams of methamphetamine and 9.5 kilograms of ketamine. The prosecution said Zhu and Lin then distributed the drugs to 18 other dealers.

The 18 dealers were also jailed. Two received life imprisonment.