Twenty-seven individuals were sentenced in Shenzhen for their involvement in six antimony ingot smuggling cases on Tuesday, according to the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in South China's Guangdong province.

The harshest sentence was given to Wang Wubin, the principal offender, who received 12 years in prison and a 1 million yuan ($141,952) fine for smuggling goods prohibited by the state from import and export.

The other 26 individuals received sentences ranging from five years in prison to four months of detention, along with fines, based on their roles and the quantities they smuggled.

The court found that from February to March 2025, Wang conspired with or was commissioned by overseas smuggling groups to organize some of the defendants to purchase antimony ingots, conceal and disguise them, and make false customs declarations, all without obtaining the necessary export permits for dual-use items. Dual-use items are defined as goods, technologies, and services that have both civilian and military applications or can enhance military capabilities.

In total, over 166 tons of antimony ingots were smuggled, with customs seizing more than 96 tons, according to the court.

The first-instance judgment held that Wang and others violated national export control regulations, including the "Regulations on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items", by evading customs supervision and smuggling goods under state export control.