Three drug mafia leaders executed in China

China today executed three drug mafia leaders for smuggling narcotics in a case which drew national attention for being the biggest drug seizure in the northeastern Liaoning Province.
Ma Min, Yao Hongguo and Li Na were found guilty of smuggling 2,000 methamphetamine pills and 36 kilogrammes of the drug, the Liaoning provincial higher people's court said in a statement.
Starting in May 2008, the three were involved in transporting drugs from the southern city of Shenzhen to sell it in the city of Yingkou, Liaoning.
They were arrested while collecting drugs from Yingkou Railway Station in May 2010.
As the three men were leaders of the drug gangs, they were given the death penalty, the court said.

Police have stepped up investigations into drug-related crimes over the past few years.

In Beijing, several renowned celebrities have been detained for taking drugs since last year.
Since the beginning of last year, 2,365 drug traffickers in the Chinese capital have been punished, including 446 that were handed prison terms of over five years.
More than 90 per cent of drugs seized by China in 2014 came from the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia, according to a report on drugs.