Duo jailed for transporting 10 kilograms of drug-making materials

Two men who tried to smuggle nearly 10 kilograms of raw materials used to make drugs have been jailed by the Jing’an District People’s Court.

The duo, one surnamed He and the other surnamed Wang, from Fujian Province, paid SF Express to deliver a parcel containing more than 9.6 kilograms of ephedrine — the key ingredient in the production of methamphetamine — to Shanghai on August 27, 2016.

The parcel reached an overseas logistics company, via which they planned to smuggle the goods out of the country. But the parcel raised the suspicion of a company worker and he called police.

In the warehouse, police unpacked the parcel and found white powder in 27 glass boxes. Tests showed they were ephedrine, the court said.

He and Wang were caught in Fuqing City, Fujian in October and December of 2016, respectively.

Convicted of illegally transporting drug-making materials, He was sentenced to three years and eight months behind bars and fined 8,000 yuan (US$1,221). Wang was sentenced to three years and two months, with a fine of 6,000 yuan.