¡¡¡¡HAIKOU, Oct. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Three suspects charged with the illegal trafficking of wild animals were sentenced to life in prison by the court of the capital of south China's Hainan Province.

¡¡¡¡Liang Huijiang and Zhang Songchang, both residents of China's Guangdong Province, shipped 566 monitor lizards, 259 pythons, fivepangolins (a type of anteater) and 7,563 rare snakes from Thailandto Sanya, a port city in Hainan, on July 24 last year.

¡¡¡¡The animals were seized in Sanya during the early morning hoursof July 25.

¡¡¡¡According to police reports, Liang Xusheng, a Thai citizen, purchased the animals, including 868 cobras, in Thailand, and, with the help of Liang Huijiang, shipped them to Sanya in October,2000.

¡¡¡¡The police said Liang Huijiang has smuggled animals from Thailand and sold them in south China's Guangdong Province.

¡¡¡¡Others charged as accessories to the crime were sentenced to terms ranging from one and a half to ten years. Enditem