Two drug dealers are executed as four other traffickers are put on death row in China

A court in China has ordered two convicted drug dealers to be executed immediately during an open trial this week.

The pair, Lin Shanju and Li Zhiping, were caught dealing 9,511 grams (21 pounds) of heroin and 27,077 grams (60 pounds) of crystal meth in the southern province of Hainan in the space of one month, according to the court.

Four other drug dealers were put on the death row during the group sentencing on Wednesday.

The Hainan Intermediate People's Court in China held a group trial for drug dealers this week

Two were ordered to be executed right away and four others got suspended death sentences

Courts around China have sentenced dozens of drug traffickers in the past few days as the country cracks down on the crime during the National Drug Control Publicity Month in June.

According to the Hainan Intermediate People's Court, Mr Lin and Mr Li carried out drug trafficking between March and April in 2015.

The court said that Mr Lin hired an accomplice to drive a drug-laden van for some 150 kilometres (93 miles), from Xuwen County in Guangdong to Qionghai city in Hainan, on multiple occasions.

Once the heroin and meth reached Qionghai, Mr Lin would hide them in his car and drive the vehicle to a place near Mr Li's home before selling them to Mr Li.

The group sentencing took place at the Hainan Intermediate People's Court on Wednesday

Mr Lin, then 43 years old, was caught red-handed during one of those trips on April 25, 2015, and Mr Li was detained on July 16 that year, according to a government report.

Police also found 252.4 grams (0.56 pounds) of heroin, 163.8 grams (0.36 pounds) of caffeine and 140,000 yuan (£16,000) of profit from drug trafficking at Mr Li's home.

The duo received capital punishment in April of 2017. They were put to death this week after the decisions had been verified and approved by the Supreme People's Court of Hainan, a statement said.

The Hainan Intermediate Court also gave a suspended death sentence with a two-year reprieve to four more criminals.

China has held various educational activities during the National Drug Control Publicity Month in June. Pictured, students look at drugs during an anti-drug publicity and education activity held by local police at Hunan University of Technology and Business on June 19 in Changsha

According to local Nanhai Net, one of them, 52-year-old Mr Liang, sold 1750.2 grams (3.9 pounds) of heroin to others in February, 2017.

Another two, 50-year-old Mr Lin and 44-year-old Mr Wang, traded 952 grams (2 pounds) of meth between them in August, 2013.

The last criminal, 42-year-old Mr Mo, sold 1,038 grams (2.3 pounds) of heroin to others in February, 2008.

Death sentence with reprieve is a type of death sentence under the Chinese Criminal Law.

The convicted individual is given a two-year reprieve from the execution.

At the end of the two-year term, the sentence will be reduced to life imprisonment if the individual does not commit further crimes within the period.

Elsewhere in China, the Wuhan Intermedia People's Court sentenced 18 criminals in relations to 13 drug-dealing cases between Monday and Wednesday, according to state media China News.

One of them, who was found guilty of selling 4,360 grams (9.6 pounds) of meth through post by hiding them in a water pump in 2017, was sentenced to death with immediate execution.

On Wednesday, four drug dealers were handed capital punishment by the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong.

Another three received suspended death sentences as 65 suspects concerning 34 cases stood trial, the Guangdong government said.