Shanghai's biggest drug lord to be executed

It’s the end of the line for Shanghai’s most notorious drug lord, Li Bin. Shanghai’s highest court has turned down his appeal against a death sentence decision from October of last year. Along with Li Bin, 19 members of his gang were given life sentences.

What does this mean for Shanghai and the world in general? No more k-holes, suckers! Finally somebody can write what will possibly become China’s Goodfellas. Li’s story is straight out of a Hollywood gangster movie and he even proclaimed to have based his gang on the foreign mafia.

After spending a youth filled with petty crimes and jail, Li started drug trafficking and running gambling rings in 2001 upon his release. His headquarters were based at the Baoding Palace nightclub in Baoshan district. The loyalty of his underlings has become legendary and anyone who would disturb “elder brother”, as he was known, would immediately be attacked.

Li would boost morale by throwing massive drug parties for his gangsters. There are even rumors that he once drugged state security agents. Most infamously, on May 11, 2005, forty gang members blocked the entrance to the Jing’an Police Station in retaliation for police intrusion on a dispute between Li’s wife and clubgoers.

The upheld death sentence of Li Bin coincides with International Anti-Drug Day. In addition to bringing down Li, Shanghai police have been cracking down on drug dealers throughout the city and have already arrested 485 drug-related suspects this year. If there is a screenwriter out there reading this, start writing a really awesome screenplay about Li and contact Martin Scorcese immediately!

Photo from Tom.com