NAN

A Thai court on Wednesday sentenced one of South-East Asia’s biggest drug lords to life imprisonment, a court official said.

“Lao’s Xaysana Keopimpha was handed a death penalty after being found guilty of selling no less than 1 million methamphetamine pills in August 2016,’’ the official said, who was not authorised to talk to media.

However, his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment due to his cooperation in the case.

This is the second time a Thai court has sentenced him to life in prison.

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In March, the 43-year-old drug lord was found guilty of smuggling 1.2 million methamphetamine pills into Thailand from Laos in September 2016.

Thai police said they had investigated Xaysana’s network for over five years.

According to Thai narcotics police, Xaysana was arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport in January 2017 following a tip-off.

Up to 100 million baht (3 million dollars) in assets, including 14 properties and 14 luxury cars, were seized by Thai and Lao police following the arrest.

Methamphetamine pills are popular drugs in Thailand and across South-East Asia.

Most methamphetamine smuggled to Thailand came from Myanmar through the notorious “Golden Triangle’’ shared border area with Laos.