The same crime, judged by the world.

Drug trafficking — how 14 countries sentence it

Across these 14 jurisdictions, the punishment for importing a significant quantity of hard drugs such as heroin spans the entire global spectrum — from a 12-year maximum with no minimum (Netherlands) to a mandatory death sentence (Singapore). Six jurisdictions retain the death penalty on the books for such offences (China, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, India, South Korea, and Taiwan), but they diverge sharply in practice: China, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia actively execute drug traffickers, whereas South Korea (no executions since 1997), India (discretionary and effectively unused for drugs), and Taiwan (retained but very rarely imposed for drugs) rarely or never carry it out. Taiwan's mandatory death-or-life scheme for Category 1 narcotics was held partly unconstitutional in 2023 in a case about SELLING; the reasoning is widely expected to extend to the parallel transporting/importing offence, and an interim judicial mitigation continues to apply pending legislative amendment. The remaining Western jurisdictions rely on long custodial terms without capital punishment: the United States imposes tough mandatory minimums (10 years to life for kilogram-scale heroin, no parole), while European systems (Germany, France, England & Wales, Netherlands) and Australia and Brazil use discretionary ranges topping out between 12 years and life. All figures are general and are for legal education, not legal advice; they describe statutes and typical sentencing practice, not any specific case.

Starkest gap: For essentially the same act — importing roughly a kilogram of heroin — the sanction ranges from a mandatory death sentence in Singapore (and active use of the death penalty in China and Saudi Arabia) to a 12-year maximum with no minimum in the Netherlands.

• China: 15 years, life imprisonment, or death (heroin of 50 g or more), plus confiscation of property (typically the death penalty). Death penalty is on the books.
• Saudi Arabia: Death penalty for smuggling/trafficking heroin (actively imposed and carried out); lesser cases draw imprisonment, fines, and flogging (typically the death penalty). Death penalty is on the books.
• Singapore: Mandatory death for importing more than 15 g of pure diamorphine (heroin); narrow exception gives life imprisonment plus caning (typically the death penalty). Death penalty is on the books.
• Australia: Up to life imprisonment for importing a commercial quantity of heroin (1.5 kg+); up to 25 years for a marketable quantity (typically life imprisonment).
• Japan: For-profit importation of heroin: life imprisonment or a long fixed term (3+ years); severe in practice (typically life imprisonment).
• South Korea: Minimum 5 years up to life for importing heroin; long fixed terms common (typically life imprisonment). Death penalty is on the books.
• Taiwan: Life imprisonment (statutory floor for importing/transporting heroin); death penalty in the most aggravated cases, very rarely imposed for drug offences (typically life imprisonment). Death penalty is on the books.
• United States: 10 years to life (importing 1 kg or more of heroin); no parole, roughly 85% served (typically life imprisonment).
• Brazil: 5 to 15 years plus fine-days for trafficking/importation; increased by one-sixth to two-thirds for transnational trafficking (typically a long prison term).
• England & Wales (UK): Long custodial term, up to a guideline range of around 16 years or more for importing Class A heroin; statutory maximum is life (typically a long prison term).
• Germany: 2 to 15 years for importing a 'not-minor' quantity of heroin; several years is common (typically a long prison term).
• India: 10 to 20 years rigorous imprisonment plus a fine for importing a commercial quantity of heroin (typically a long prison term). Death penalty is on the books.
• France: Up to 10 years plus a fine (statutory €7.5 million) for illicit importation of heroin; up to 30 years if committed by an organized gang (typically a medium prison term).
• Netherlands: Up to 12 years for intentional importation of hard drugs (List I, incl. heroin); no minimum, actual sentences often lower (typically a medium prison term).

General legal education, not legal advice. Figures are simplified and were last verified 19–20 July 2026; each is sourced in the interactive view above.