10 Indian diamond traders jailed in China; 12 to be deported

BEIJING: Ten of the 22 Indian traders, charged with smuggling diamonds worth $ 7.3 million into China, were today sentenced to varied prison terms ranging from 23 months to six years by a Shenzhen court, which ordered the deportation of the remaining 12.

The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, which conducted the trial of the diamond traders, most of them from Gujarat, sentenced one of them to six years; two to five years each; one to three years and six months; and five others to three years each, Indian officials, who attended the court proceedings, said.

One more trader was sentenced to one year and eleven months in jail, according to sketchy details received here.

The court ordered the deportation of the remaining 12 traders, an official said.

Some of the traders were also slapped fines ranging from three lakh to ten lakh yuan (Rs 24 lakh to Rs 80 lakh).

Officials of the Indian Consulate at Guangzhou attended the court proceedings.

The 22 traders were arrested on January 8, 2010 in Shenzhen and charged with smuggling diamonds worth $ 7.3 million.

They were accused of sourcing at least 14,000 carats of diamonds illegally from Hong Kong for sale in the Chinese market.

They were also charged with controlling a smuggling ring, working with "henchmen from Hong Kong", according to reports published earlier in the local media.

The jail terms awarded to the 10 traders would include their detention period, which means one of them who has been handed down the sentence of one year and 11 months would also be released soon.