conspiracy and attempting to smuggle 109 Chinese passengers and crew into the United States.

Prosecutors maintained during the two-week trial that Ben Lin, Sang Li, and Mao Bing Mu were enforcers aboard the Xing Da , a freighter loaded with illegal immigrants intercepted off the coast of Bermuda in October 1996.

The evidence showed that during the 54-day journey from China, the trio was part of the crew that kept the human cargo in order, beating those who complained about meagre rations. Each of the aliens agreed to pay $25,000 to the smugglers upon arrival in the United States, prosecutors said.

Sentencing was scheduled for July 25. On the smuggling charge, the defendants each face up to 10 years in prison per alien as well as a $250,000 fine.

SHIP SHI