CHINESE COURT SENTENCES 1 JAPANESE, 2 CHINESE TO DEATH IN DRUGS CASE

a Chinese court sentenced a Japanese man and his two Chinese accomplices to death for attempting to smuggle drugs from China to Japan, an official at the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang said. Teruo Takeda, 63, is believed to be the head of the drug smuggling operation that had led to the arrests of 17 Japanese citizens throughout China since 2003. Takeda became the third Japanese person to be sentenced to death over the drug case.