CANOE -- CNEWS - Canada: China expects Canada to deport smuggling suspect: "China expects Canada to deport smuggling suspect
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN




BEIJING (AP) - China expects suspected smuggling kingpin Lai Changxing to be deported from Canada within months and is preparing to punish him under Chinese law, a former top legal official was quoted as saying by official media on Saturday.

Lai, whose application for political asylum has been rejected by Canada, could be returned within three to five months once Canadian officials complete deportation procedures, said Zhu Entao, a former assistant to China's minister of public security.

China accuses Lai of heading a syndicate based in the southeastern port of Xiamen that smuggled as much as $10 billion US worth of goods ranging from cigarettes to cooking oil under the protection of corrupt government officials.

'I'm optimistic about the final extradition of Lai,' said Zhu, who was in Beijing to attend the annual meeting of the parliamentary advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Lai, his wife Tsang Mingna and their three children arrived in Canada in August 1999 after fleeing China by way of Hong Kong.

The family's case is now before Canada's Department of Citizenship and Immigration, which must determine whether Lai is at risk upon return to China. Lai's Cana"