Laos sends accused drug lord to China over Mekong killings
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Beijing - An alleged drug lord suspected of involvement in the killings of 13 Chinese sailors was on his way to China Thursday after authorities in Laos handed him over to Chinese police, state media said.
"Nor Kham, head of an armed drug gang, was arrested on April 25 atan undisclosed location and has now been sent to China on a chartered plane dispatched by Chinese authorities," China's official Xinhuanews agency said.
Nor Kham was placed in Chinese custody Thursday after police from China, Laos and Thailand arrested him and other "core members" of his gang, the agency quoted Liu Yuejin, director of the Ministry of Public Security's anti-narcotics bureau, as saying.
It said the gang based in northern Myanmar's Shan state had more than 100 armed members who were believed to have been involved indrug trafficking, kidnapping, murder and other crimes along the Mekong River for many years.
After the bodies of the 13 Chinese sailors from two ships were found floating in the river in October, Thailand's military said NorKham was a prime suspect.
The two ships were later reportedly seized by the Thai military after a shootout that killed one of the suspected drug traffickers aboard and prompted others to jump into the river.//DPA
