KUNMING, China, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Myanmar drug lord Naw Kham and three of his subordinates were sentenced to death in China Tuesday for the killing of 13 sailors on the Mekong River last year.
The Intermediate People's Court of Kunming in southwest China also sentenced a fifth member of Naw Kham's gang to death with reprieve and eight years in prison, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.
All six defendants said they would appeal the verdict.
They were found guilty of masterminding and colluding with Thai soldiers in an attack on two Chinese cargo ships Oct. 5, 2011.
The murder of the sailors triggered an outcry in China.
Naw Kham's crime ring was busted earlier this year in a joint operation conducted by police from China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.
