According to Kyodo news agency a court in northern Myanmar has sentenced 153 Chinese to life imprisonment for illegal logging, illegal entry and drug possession. The Myitkyina district court in Kachin State also gave 10 years in prison to two minors for violating the law against destroying public property. The Chinese were arrested in a series of raids on unlawful logging operations along the border Myanmar shares with Yunnan. China has filed protest with Myanmar and requested the offenders be returned immediately. Myanmar had banned the export of raw wood in April 2014.