Lai Changxing [File photo: cnsphoto] Lai Changxing, the kingpin of a notorious smuggling ring, was sentenced to life imprisonment Friday for smuggling and bribery, the Intermediate People's Court of Xiamen said. The court deprived his political rights for life and confiscated all his personal assets, according to the court verdict. His illegal income would also be confiscated, the court said. The court found that Lai, 53, formed a smuggling ring by establishing firms and bases in Hong Kong and Xiamen from 1991. From December 1995 to May 1999, Lai's syndicate smuggled a large number of commodities including cigarettes, cars, refined oil, vegetable oil, chemical materials and textile materials worth 27.395 billion yuan (4.35 billion US dollars) and evaded duties of 13.999 billion yuan, according to the court. To facilitate his transactions, Lai himself and his ring members, instructed by Lai, bribed 64 government officials with 39.13 million yuan between 1991 and 1999, the court said. Lai fled to Canada 13 years ago. After he was repatriated to China on July 23, 2011, he was arrested and investigated for smuggling and bribery.
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