Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Police, FBI Bust Seven in Major Drug Raid

Chhay Sinarith shows the seized heroin packages and other paraphernalia (Photo: Bunry, Koh Santepheap)

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
06 October 2009


Cambodian police working with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested seven people and seized 16 kilograms of heroin, following three months of investigation, officials said Monday. Police also found counterfeit US dollars in the Oct. 2 raid.

“In the operation, we did an investigation and tracked [the suspects] down for almost three months, with the support of the FBI representative in Cambodia,” said Chhay Sinarith, chief of the Interior Ministry’s security department.

Suspects were arrested in Phnom Penh and Stung Treng province. The raid included the arrest of Lam Sokha, a suspected trafficker who has been arrested and released in recent years, police and court officials said.

The seven suspects were sent to Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday and would be questioned by prosecutors this week, officials said.

Police said the heroin moved through neighboring countries through Stung Treng, which borders Laos.

The discovery of heroin, crystal methamphetamine, or “ice,” drug production and counterfeit money made the raid a major case, Chhay Sinarith said.

The US State Department praised Cambodia for its anti-drug efforts in 2009, but said the country faces increasing problems of consumption, trafficking and the production of dangerous drugs.

The State Department warned that crackdowns on trafficking in Thailand and China had made Cambodia an attractive route for traffickers, while internally, use of amphetamines, including ice, was escalating.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

thank you FBI for helping and working cooperatively with cambodian counterpart to control and regulate illegal drug smuggling and usage, etc... cambodia needs this kind of assistance from american law enforcement and more. god bless cambodia.

Anonymous said...

cambodia should also run a national campaign to educate the public about the danger of illegal drug usage, etc. street drugs are indeed bad for people who used them as many studies in the west have shown often. people can become rowdy, unruly and misbehave under the influence of illegal drugs or street drugs, really!

Anonymous said...

If FBI allow all Cambodian police to keep the evidence and the criminals, these evidences will very soon disappear and all criminals will soon be killed like Om Chhay to cover up the top leaders.

Areak Prey

Anonymous said...

11:02Am ! That'S what the hunT all about!

Anonymous said...

i bet the fbi did all the work
AMERICA FUCK YEAH

Anonymous said...

Make sure those drugs maker spend life time in prison, because they destroyed people and the country...

Anonymous said...

Zero tolerant to drug dealers, users and abusers, however I believe that the Gov't can keep these drug, if busted and can sell them all to the registered pharmaceuticals company to turn it into good use such create good medicine to cue people who are sick in general and the money received can put into other good use such building a new school extra. In other words, don't put them into waste like destroying them extra because they can turn it into good use. So, be smarter OK. Aust.