BEIJING -- More than 84,000 drug criminals in China were sentenced in the first 10 months of 2014, the country's Supreme People's Court (SPC) said Thursday.

According to the Fifth Criminal Court of the SPC, courts nationwide handled 433,128 drug-related cases between 2007 and 2013 and handed down verdicts on 471,302 criminals. Among these is the high-profile case of Myanmar drug trafficker Naw Kham, who sold drugs along the Mekong River and killed 13 Chinese sailors in 2011.

Around 27 percent of criminals received sentences ranging from five years in prison to the death penalty, the Fifth Criminal Court of the SPC said.

People's courts at all levels handed down severe penalties, including death penalties, to drug criminals whose crimes were especially serious and gravely damaged society.

The SPC strengthened study and guidance on drug cases to improve handling by subordinate courts. The SPC also held anti-drug education activities.

In the future, the SPC will take a tougher approach on drug-related crimes, particularly the manufacture of drugs.

Zhou Qiang, president of the SPC, said at a working conference on drug cases in central China's Wuhan City that China still faces severe challenges in drug crime control, urging judges not to be lenient towards drug criminals and calling for more drug awareness campaigns among youths.