The Tokyo District Court sentenced two men to life in prison Wednesday for smuggling about 230 kilograms of amphetamines into Japan from North Korea in violation of the stimulants control law.

Gang leader Katsuhiko Miyata, 60, and South Korean resident of Japan U Si Yun, 61, were involved in a smuggling ring loading the drugs at a North Korean port, dropping the cargo into the Sea of Japan and later collecting it in a fishing boat and bringing it into Japan in June and October 2002, the ruling said. The court also ordered Miyata and U, who played key roles in the smuggling operations, to pay 10 million yen in fines.