Three Get Up to 20 Years for Drug Trafficking

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
22 August 2008

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Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Wednesday sentenced three Taiwanese citizens between 12 and 20 years in prison for their involvement in the export of more than 1.2 kilograms of heroin from Cambodia.

Huang Chih Huang, 34, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined 60 million riel, or about $15,000. Lin Hui Min, 17, and Wu Chia Hsun, 16, both women, received 12 years and fines of 40 million riel, about $10,000, each.

The three are being held at Prey Sar prison, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, following their arrest in December 2007 at Phnom Penh International Airport, when police confiscated heroin packets hidden under their clothes.

"The three confessed that they were hired to bring heroin from Cambodia to Taiwan," court deputy prosecutor Sok Kalyan said. "They are poor, and they did that for money."

Lawyers for the three were not available for comment.

Center for Social Development court monitor Hang Charya said the three had confessed to transporting the drugs for money.

Lor Ramin, secretary-general of the National Authority for Combating Drugs, said Friday that police were so far only able to arrest people who are hired to transport the drugs, instead of breaking up the organized crime network involved.

Police are continuing the investigation into the drug network, but would require help from Interpol, Lor Ramin said.

Taiwanese groups committed some of the most drug trafficking in Cambodia, he said.

Two Cambodian drug mules nabbed in Thailand for transporting Meth pills in shoes

Million Baht Shoes; Nab Two Khmers With 1,000,000 Baht Of Yah Bah in Sandals

August 14, 2007
Pattaya Daily News (Thailand)

Pattaya investigators arrested two Khmers, who had more than 6,000 Yah bah (amphetamine) tablets in their sandals to sell to customers in Pattaya. The illicit drugs were probably valued at more than one million baht

On 13 August 2007, at 4:30 PM, Police Colonel Suthin Sabphueng, Pattaya Superintendent and Police Major Chaigrit Thong-Inn, an investigator and a team of police officers arrested a yah bah dealer. Further investigation resulted in the information that the dealers bought the yah bah from a big agency which delivered the drugs to Pattaya.

Police forced the dealer to order 300,000 baht worth of yah bah to be delivered to Pattaya. The appointed place for the yah bah delivery was in the vicinity of the pedestrian crossing bridge on Sukhumvit Rd., in front of Soi Bhothisarn, opposite Wat Nongyai, Banglamung, Chonburi. The police team staked out the area and waited for the drug couriers.

At the appointed time, the police spotted two suspects, who came by bus, on the Chonburi-Rayong route. They immediately arrested the two suspects, who were identified as Mr. Jae Wern (24) and Mr. La Jen (18). Both were Khmers. Police could not find anything on their bodies. However, the police were suspicious of the unusual thickness of their sandals. When they opened the bottoms of the sandals, the police found six bags of yah bah, totaling 6400 tablets. The bags were very well packed to prevent crushing.

Jae Wern and La Jen confessed that they were hired for 2,000 baht by a Thai and Khmer agency from Prajeenburi Province to deliver yah bah to customers in Pattaya. The agency modified their shoes to hide the yah bah so they could deliver it to customers, undetected by the authorities. They took the bus from Kabinburi and connected to the Chonburi-Rayong bus to make the delivery.

Police Major Chaigrit Thong-Inn said that, earlier, they had arrested Mr. Ake, a teenager in Pattaya, for drug dealing. He was caught with thirty yah bah tablets. They extended the investigation by having Mr. Ake order yah bah to be delivered to Soi Bhothisarn so they could nab the two Khmers who were the drug couriers. The drugs were ordered from Cambodia by Thai and Khmer Agency who were big-time drug dealers. The drugs were distributed to smaller dealers on a regular basis. The drugs seized, in this operation, were worth more than one million baht. Police will further interrogate Mr. Jae Wern and Mr. La Jen to widen the investigation and arrest more drug dealers, as well.