GUANGZHOU, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Five men have been sentenced to jail terms ranging from six years to life imprisonment after being convicted of child trafficking in south China's Guangdong Province.

    The sentences were handed down by the Intermediate People's Court of Heyuan City Friday.

    Xiao Yuande, Xiao Yuanfu, Zhou Zhiwen, Xie Yaojun and Yan Maosheng were accused of abducting three children and selling them to their clients from October 2008 to April 2009, the court heard.

    As a principal criminal, Xiao Yuande was imprisoned for life and all his personal property was confiscated. The other four received jail terms of between six years and 13 years, and were fined 80,000 yuan (11,765 U.S. dollars) in total.

    Police had rescued the kidnapped children and sent them back to their parents, the court heard.

    China's Ministry of Public Security launched a special crackdown on child abduction and trafficking in April, and as of Oct. 12, over 2,000 children had been rescued from more than 1,700human trafficking cases.