Hanoi, Jan 20 (IANS): A court in Vietnam has sentenced 30 people to death in one of the country's biggest transnational drug trafficking trials, media reported.

The Quang Ninh provincial people's court Monday announced punishment for 89 defendants involved in four transnational drug trafficking rings, with 30 death sentences, 13 life imprisonments and 13-20 years of imprisonment for the other 46 defendants, Xinhua quoted media reports as saying.

The defendants were charged with trafficking and smuggling more than 1.47 tonnes of heroin, 35 kg of crystal methamphetamine and over 323,400 methamphetamine tablets from Laos to Vietnam and China, according to Vietnam's state-run news agency VNA.

The defendants belonged to four drug trafficking rings which were uncovered following the arrest of Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, 54, in April 2012. Nguyen had been bringing illegal narcotics from Laos to Vietnam since 2006, said the indictment.

The defendants were also prosecuted for falsifying material, illegally stockpiling weapons and giving bribes.

According to Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling more than 600 gm of heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine face the death penalty.

The production or sale of 100 gm of heroin or 300 gm of other illegal narcotics is also punishable by death, online newspaper Thanhnien (Young People) reported.

Punishments for drug-related crimes in Vietnam are relatively harsh but this trial shows the immensity of drug trafficking problems in the country.