China Fighting Human Trafficking

Society

Eleven get jail terms for human trafficking

JINAN - Eleven Chinese were sentenced Thursday for up to 19 years in prison for attempting to traffick people out of the country from east China's Shandong Province.

Jin Longyun, the head of the human trafficking ring, was sentenced to 19 years in jail, and also fined 300,000 yuan ($45,000), said a spokesman with the Weihai Intermediate People's Court, Shandong.

The 10 others convicted were given jail terms of one year to four years.

After being tipped off, police from Weihai City apprehended 33 stowaways and 11 snakeheads, when the group was preparing to leave Rongcheng City, Shandong, by boat on February 5.

The smugglers planned to ship the stowaways to the Republic of Korea, the spokesman said.