Mexican brothers face death penalty in Malaysia drugs charge (Reuters)

KUALA LUMPUR | Fri Apr 1, 2011 12:32am EDT
 

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Three Mexican brothers will be hanged in Malaysia if convicted on a drugs trafficking charge, a Malaysian government lawyer said on Friday.

The three have been ordered to enter their defense at a court in the capital Kuala Lumpur on April 27. They have been detained since they were arrested in an anti-drugs raid in March 2008.

"They were found in a factory that was full of appliances for making drugs. All of them face mandatory hanging if found guilty," said prosecutor Umar Saifuddin Jaafar.

Authorities found 29 kg of methamphetamine along with possible drug making equipment during the raid in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, bordering Singapore.

Brothers Jose Regino Gonzalez Villareal, 33; Simon Gonzalez Villareal, 36; and Luis Alfonso Gonzalez Villareal, 43; were arrested with a Singaporean, Lim Mun Wang, 54; and a Malaysian, Lee Boon Sian, 46.

All five face mandatory death sentences upon conviction, said Umar. The defense lawyer for the accused could not immediately contacted.

Malaysia has strict laws against drugs trafficking. It was one of 67 countries which imposed a new death sentence in 2010, according to a report last month by human rights group Amnesty International.

(Reporting by Razak Ahmad; Editing by Daniel Magnowski) - Reuters, 1/4/2011, Mexican brothers face death penalty in Malaysia drugs charge