8 Executed for Drug Crimes After Public Trial in Guangdong

By Tristin Zhang, June 30, 2017

Bound by rope and with police holding their arms, the men smiled. It isn't the expression you'd expect from someone about to die.

On June 26, the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, 18 men were sentenced in a trial conducted in a sports field in the city of Lufeng, eastern Guangdong province.

An audience watched as the Intermediate People’s Court of Shanwei City and the People’s Court of Lufeng City sentenced 13 to death, with eight men brought for execution immediately.

The event sent a message to everyone there – including residents, students, police and military – that Lufeng's time as China's meth capital will be over, if not anytime soon.

Lufeng produced the highly additive narcotic for years, with the cooperation of local authorities, until a sweeping raid carried out by an armed force of 3,000 on the city’s Boshe village on December 29, 2013.

About three tons of meth and 23 tons of raw drug-making materials were seized, while many family-run meth labs were discovered. One-hundred-and-eighty-two suspects were captured.

Since then, the courts have been meting out harsh sentences. The June before last, in another open trial in Lufeng, five involved in the drug trade were executed and another five were put to death last June.

Despite the executions, drug crime has continued in the area, according to authorities. The Lufeng court says it dealt with 244 drug-related cases involving 286 people since this time in 2016.

[Images via ifeng.com, hk01.com, gov.cn]