Man jailed for 15 years for carrying heroin in his body

A 22-year-old man who carried more than 300 grams of heroin inside his body was sentenced to 15 years in prison last week for drug transportation, a Beijing court said on Thursday when releasing the ruling.

His personal property of 15,000 yuan ($2,160) was also confiscated, the Beijing No 4 Intermediate People's Court said.

It said the defendant, surnamed Song, put 47 plastic capsules containing the heroin in his body, swallowing some and inserting others rectally, and then boarded a train bound for Beijing that left Kunming, the capital of southwestern China's Yunnan province, at around 8 am on Aug 6 last year.

He was detained by railway police officers from Beijing when the train arrived at Zhengzhou, Henan province, it said.

When the court heard the case in July, Song said another person asked him to transport the capsules and he did not know they contained drugs.

"But, after review, we didn't find enough evidence to prove Song was manipulated," the court said.

During the trial, Song said he should be punished more leniently because he had turned himself in. However, the court said "he attempted to get off the train when it arrived in Wuhan, Hubei province, before being placed under control by railway police officers".

"So he couldn't be given a lenient penalty," it said.

Under the Criminal Law, people are held criminally liable for transporting any amount of drugs. Those carrying 50 grams or more of heroin, opium or methamphetamine face a minimum of 15 years' imprisonment, and they could be sentenced to death if the amount is extremely large.