CHANGSHA, July 23 -- A drug trafficking case involving a 21-member gang was heard in a central China court on Wednesday.
According to the Changsha Intermediate People's Court, the case involved more than 222 kilograms of "magu", a stimulant consisting of methamphetamine and caffeine, and over 20 million yuan (about 3 million U.S. dollars).
The defendants crossed the border to Myanmar to buy the drug in March, the court said.
After they returned to Yunnan Province, they hid the "magu" in boxes and put them into a truck with bananas, which was heading for Hunan Province. The truck was stopped by police, it said.
The court trial will last three days.
Also on Wednesday, other Chinese provinces announced cases that have been cracked.
In Shandong Province, police of Yantai City said they busted a drugs gang, finding over 50 kilograms of methamphetamine and arresting 19 suspects.
According to the police in Nanchang City of Jiangxi Province, they arrested three suspects and confiscated over 30 kilograms of methamphetamine and 100,000 yuan earlier this month.
In Quanzhou City of Fujian Province, police said they had captured 22 people and found two kilograms of different types of drugs.
Chinese courts sentenced 39,762 criminals for drug offenses in the first five months of 2014, up 27.8 percent year on year, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) announced in late June.
