A court in the port of Xiamen sentenced nearly 50 people, giving the death sentence to seven of them, a court spokeswoman said.
Xiamen's former deputy mayor, Lan Fu, was believed to be among those sentenced for smuggling oil, cars, computers and cigarettes worth up to 15 billion dollars in an operation centred on Xiamen in Fujian province.
Courts in the nearby Fujian cities of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou sentenced a total of 14 people on Wednesday, court officials said.
No death sentences were given in Zhangzhou, an official said.
Courts in Putian and Fuzhou also passed sentences in the Xiamen case, but officials would not confirm how many people were involved.
The sentences were issued after trials of around 90 people, with more trials scheduled to begin this month.
Former vice-minister of public security Li Jizhou, charged with accepting more than 10 million yuan (1.2 million dollars) in bribes, is the highest ranking of up to 200 officials, police chiefs and trading executives accused of involvement in the smuggling operation.
In September a Beijing court executed Cheng Kejie, a former leading Communist Party official and ex-deputy chairman of China's parliament, after convicting him of taking 5 million dollars in bribes.
Former provincial governor Cheng is the most senior official executed in the anti-corruption drive led this year by Premier Zhu Rongji.
During the first set of trials in the Xiamen case, state media gave a strong hint that several officials would be executed.
"Expectations are high for a big catch because of the case's suspected links with officials," the official China Daily said in a commentary.
"The fight against corruption is a matter of life or death for the Communist Party and its hold on power," the newspaper said.
(dpa)