CHINA: DRUG KINGPIN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN BEIJING

a drug kingpin was sentenced to death in Beijing, China, in the largest drug-manufacturing case ever busted in the capital. Liang Ruinan, a key organizer of the drug ring, was found guilty of manufacturing 166 kilograms of methamphetamine, popularly known as "ice," with three others in late March last year in a rented house in the city's Chaoyang District, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court said. The 41 year old was sentenced to death while three others, Chen Bing, Li Huicheng and Cheng Zhongying, received suspended death, life imprisonment and 10 year in jail, respectively. The four stood trial on June 26 this year. Chen and Liang were arrested by police on April 2, 2006. According the court, the ring had planned to take the drug overseas.