Canadian sentenced to death for drug production

A Chinese Canadian was sentenced to death for producing drugs by the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court on Thursday, demonstrating the determination of judicial authorities in the city to fight against drugs and related crimes.

The court also ordered the confiscation of all personal property of the man, Xu Weihong, according to a verdict handed down by the court.

No details were revealed about Xu's personal information, career or background.

One of Xu's accomplices, Wen Guanxiong, a native of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, was sentenced to life behind bars, said the verdict.

Wen, 45, was also stripped of all personal assets and deprived of political rights for life, the verdict said.

According to Guangzhou-based Yangcheng Evening News, Xu and Wen were accused of purchasing raw materials and production equipment and tools to make ketamine at Wen's villa in Guangzhou in October 2016. They stored the drugs they produced in the city's Haizhu district.

Police seized about 121 kilograms of ketamine on Wen's property after a sweep of the drug production areas, the report said.

According to Chinese laws, Xu can appeal to the upper court, the Guangdong High People's Court.

If the high court upholds Xu's death penalty, the sentence then must be submitted to the Supreme People's Court, the country's top court, for a final review before it can be carried out.

Producing and smuggling drugs is a serious crime on the Chinese mainland that can carry the death penalty.

In June, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court also sentenced Australian citizen Karm Gillespie to death for drug smuggling and confiscated all of his personal assets, according to media reports.

Gillespie was arrested in 2013 with more than 7.5 kg of methamphetamine in his check-in luggage while attempting to board an international flight at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, media reported.