Guangdong High People's Court recently ruled on a smuggling case involving about 380 kilograms of heroin, according to the Guangzhou Huangpu Customs Office yesterday.

The case is said to be the largest heroin smuggling case solved by customs in China since 1949.

In the final judgment, the court sentenced three criminals to death. Another two were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve and one given life imprisonment.

The remaining 10 received prison sentences ranging from two to 15 years.

They were sentenced for crimes such as smuggling, selling, and producing drugs. Other crimes included illegally possessing drugs, firearms and ammunition.

The court also confiscated and ordered the disposal of 375.2 kilograms of heroin and 1,948.4 kilograms of methylephedrine, which is the raw material for the drug known as ice.

About 25 kilograms of other drugs were also seized as were the criminals' illegal income of over 14 million yuan (US$1.73 million) and pistols, bullets, and vehicles.

A Thai drug dealer was responsible for the sourcing of the heroin and other drugs, while domestic smugglers were responsible for the transportation of the drugs into China, storage and sales in the country and moving the drug money out.

According to Liao Keqiang from the Guangzhou Huangpu Customs Office, He Guoming and He Jinshui were domestic smugglers who began to conspire with the Thai drug dealer in 2001. They smuggled 375 kilograms of heroin into China between April and May 2002.

In August of that year, He Jinshui also smuggled three pistols and over 100 bullets into China.

In April 2005, He Guoming and Zeng Jianji, another dealer, smuggled about 2 tons of methylephedrine into the country, aiming to produce ice in Shenzhen.

The Huangpu customs office spent many months tracing the smugglers and finally cracked the case in May 2005.

Due to its geographical proximity to Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Macao, Guangdong Province has long been a hotbed for drug smugglers.

(China Daily September 13, 2006)