The Xiamen court is cordoned off

The scandal centres on the port of Xiamen where smugglers are alleged to have brought in at least $6.6bn worth of goods in the early 1990s.

Those sentenced to death include the former deputy mayor of Xiamen and other senior city officials.

Another 12 defendants were jailed for life and 58 received lesser prison terms for their role in the racket.

State media said the smugglers had evaded more than $3bn in import taxes on items including cars, oil, raw materials, heavy machinery and luxury goods.

The scandal is said to have involved hundreds of officials from lowly customs inspectors right up to central government figures.

Secrecy

Wednesday's verdicts were the first to be handed down in a series of trials that started two months ago in five different cities in Fujian.

The trials are being held in five cities

According to China's official Xinhua news agency, 14 senior figures in the smuggling scandal received death sentences, although three were suspended.

Suspended death sentences are usually commuted to life imprisonment in China.

The hearings have been conducted in intense secrecy, with all foreign press and most Chinese journalists barred.

The authorities have not even revealed the exact number of defendants.

But those charged are said to include a high-ranking policeman and senior bankers.

Hong Kong press reports have also implicated the families of some of China's most senior leaders.

The Chinese Government had earlier pledged that no official, however senior, was above the law - and the Xiamen case is being seen as a major test of that promise.

A new wave of trials connected with the Xiamen scandal is expected to begin later this month.