HO CHI MINH CITY, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- A Vietnamese court handed down a death sentence on a 34-year-old leader of a trans-provincial drug trafficking ring and life imprisonment on three of his underlings, local media reported Wednesday.

The court in southern Binh Duong province on Tuesday passed the death penalty on Do Xuan Loi from central Thua Thien Hue province, and the three life sentences on three other men from central Binh Thuan province, southern An Giang province, and Ho Chi Minh City, including an elder brother of Loi's wife, daily newspaper Tuoi Tre (Youth) reported.

Till their arrest in 2015, Loi and his accomplices had traded and transported 7 kg of drugs from northern Hai Phong city to Vietnam's southern region for retail sales, and illegally possessed three guns.

According to Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces death penalty.