Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Military police have recently discovered a large-scale drug laboratory in Phnom Penh, the biggest ever discovered in Cambodia.
The discovery has concerned authorities, who warn that Cambodia is becoming major regional centre for illegal drug production and use.
Earlier this year authorities also discovered a lab containing large quantities of the chemicals used to produce methamphetamines.
Holly Bradford, who founded Korsang, an organisation working with cambodian drug users told the Connect Asia program that drugs are easily available on the streets.
"You can go into the inner city and they're all smoking it or snorting it and you can go way up into the provinces, into the jungles and there's people up there using it as well," she said.
"So it's widespread, from the top to the bottom, from the side to the side fo the country."
While the increase in street usage is a major problem, officials from the United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs are also concerned about the rise in large-scale production of illegal amphetamines.
The UNODC's program officer, Lars Pedersen says that one of the reasons amphetamine producers and traffickers use Cambodia is because it has the weakest control systems in the region.
"It has a long border, there's multiple waterways into Cambodia," he said.
"Its extremely difficult to control with respect to trafficking and also there's very limited control systems with respect to precursor chemicals that can enter Cambodia."
Mr Pedersen says the main problem the government faces is finding a way to tackle corruption, which is at the core of the drug problem.
The discovery has concerned authorities, who warn that Cambodia is becoming major regional centre for illegal drug production and use.
Earlier this year authorities also discovered a lab containing large quantities of the chemicals used to produce methamphetamines.
Holly Bradford, who founded Korsang, an organisation working with cambodian drug users told the Connect Asia program that drugs are easily available on the streets.
"You can go into the inner city and they're all smoking it or snorting it and you can go way up into the provinces, into the jungles and there's people up there using it as well," she said.
"So it's widespread, from the top to the bottom, from the side to the side fo the country."
While the increase in street usage is a major problem, officials from the United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs are also concerned about the rise in large-scale production of illegal amphetamines.
The UNODC's program officer, Lars Pedersen says that one of the reasons amphetamine producers and traffickers use Cambodia is because it has the weakest control systems in the region.
"It has a long border, there's multiple waterways into Cambodia," he said.
"Its extremely difficult to control with respect to trafficking and also there's very limited control systems with respect to precursor chemicals that can enter Cambodia."
Mr Pedersen says the main problem the government faces is finding a way to tackle corruption, which is at the core of the drug problem.
4 comments:
Hmm ... it certainly looks like time to stop all Ah Khmer-Oversea and Ah Khmer-Yuon from entering Cambodia until we find all of the source of drug fabrication.
Kick ah HUN XEN to Hanoi you will solve the problem! All Youn Vietnamese poison I swear to your mother!
Yeah right, and let you (Long Beacher) run our country. ARE YOU NUT?
Hey don't kick the handicap! just chaine him and send him with Sok Kong of Sokimex!
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