Two men convicted of heading a gang that smuggled drugs from Myanmar into China have been executed, a court in northeast China's Liaoning Province announced Thursday.

The Liaoning Provincial Supreme People's Court said the executions of Liu Fuying and Sun Yulong, approved by the country's highest court, were carried out in May.

Liu and Sun were convicted in August last year by the court for carrying 8,000 grams of heroin in their bodies on trips from Myanmar to Liaoning from 2002. Another member in the gang, Liu Yuwen, was given death penalty with a two-year reprieve.

Wu Yanjun, a court official, said international and domestic drug trafficking was increasing in northeast China, from where drugs were also distributed to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea.

"We have seen rising numbers of people in drug trafficking gangs in recent years. Their activities tend to be more and more professional," said Wu.

Courts in Liaoning handled 1,054 drug cases from June last year to May, involving 1,797 people. The number of cases was 60 percent more than the same period the year before, and the number of people involved was up 90 percent, according to the provincial supreme court.

(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2009)