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Drug gang who made US$5b 'ice' on trial
A drug gang has gone on trial at Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court in what is believed to be one of the world's biggest narcotic cases.
Eight suspects are accused of trafficking more than 12 tons of methamphetamine, also known as "ice" - worth over US$5 billion. The gang leader, Chen Bingxi, and his wife Chen Baoyu, together with six accomplices, were charged with illegally manufacturing and trafficking the drug on the Chinese mainland between 1999 to 2002. Within a 10-month period, it is alleged the gang produced a total of 12.36 tons of high-quality "ice" valued at more than US$5.5 billion. The amount of drug Chen's gang produced almost equalled the amount of ice drug seized globally in 1999. Chen Bingxi escaped to Thailand but was arrested by police and repatriated to Guangdong in November of 2003. The last of the gang members were arrested that year. The trial is expected to last for several days. Chen Bingxi, 49, was also charged with illegally obtaining his passport through fraud and deception. If found guilty, Chen and his gang members face the death penalty. The arrests followed one of the biggest police operations during a drug crackdown in Guangdong Province, which borders Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. Zhang Qisheng, a senior member of Chen's gang, appeared at an earlier trial and was found guilty. He was sentenced to death in Guangzhou in October 2004. He had been detained by police in 2002 and was convicted of selling and trafficking more than 200 kilograms of the ice drug. The size of Chen's dealings sent shock waves through both central and provincial governments. In the same anti-drug operation, police seized a large amount of heroin in a drug warehouse in Guangzhou's Huadu District after months of investigation. According to Chinese laws, transporting and sheltering narcotics are among the most serious of crimes and those convicted are usually severely punished. Wu Shengda, a local lawyer, said the court would make examples of drug producers and traffickers to deter offers. "Serious punishment is seen as a way to frighten other drug dealers in the region," Wu told China Daily yesterday. An official from the court said Guangdong has stepped up its fight against
the drug related crime. |
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