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Five Indian ‘drug smugglers’ might get death in China
BEIJING: Police are likely to seek the death sentence for five Indians arrested on charges of smuggling drugs into China, it was learnt on Tuesday.
BEIJING: Police are likely to seek the death sentence for five Indians arrested on charges of smuggling drugs into China, it was learnt on Tuesday.
The five were flying in to Kunming in south-west China from Kolkata, a two-hour flight, and were arrested in two separate cases in the last two weeks at the airport. They were carrying about 24 kg of hashish, extracted from the cannabis plant widely available in India, into China.
All five have denied knowledge about the drugs that they were found to be carrying hidden in packets of signature Indian snacks and new laptop bags.
Two were arrested on August 24 and the rest on September 6 at a time when security across airports in China were heightened for the G20 Summit in Hangzhou on September 4-5.
They were on their way to the city of Shenzhen, a business hub close to Hong Kong.
The five men, residents of Kidderpore in Kolkata, were identified as Sheikh Ahmad Ali (46), Akrar Khan (33), Feroz Khan (31), Sheikh Ismail (24) and Maqsud Alam (24).
As per law, Indian diplomats in China will be able to meet the five only after September 21 and till then the five will not be allowed to get in touch with their families.
The criminal law in China charts the punishment for drug-related offences in terms of possession but if the quantity seized indicates the intent to sell – or someone is caught selling – the sentences are much stricter.
But the quantity involved in this case makes the five suspects vulnerable to harsher punishment, she said.
“Concerning this case, 25 kg is a huge quantity and could be life sentence or even death sentence for them. It is very serious,” Wang said.
“It is a very serious offense. According to the law, any deals related to the sales of marijuana over 1 kg could attract a punishment of a jail-term of 15 years,” Shanghai-based lawyer, Wang Chune told HT.
Senior Beijing-based criminal lawyer Zhang Liwen, who handles drug-related cases, agreed.
“The punishment is likely to be 15 years imprisonment, life sentences or death penalty – death sentence is possible,” Zhang said.
