OTTAWA — China’s embassy in Ottawa is confirming that Beijing executed Canadian citizens earlier this year.

It’s not clear how many Canadians were executed, although the Canadian government says they did not include Abbotsford, B.C. native Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, who was sentenced to death for drug smuggling by a Chinese court in 2019.

In a media statement, the Chinese embassy says the death penalty cases involving Canadian nationals were based on “solid and sufficient” evidence, adding Beijing has “zero tolerance” for drug crime.