Investigators Finish Blast-Site Training [offered by the FBI]

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
15 May 2009

Police and counterterrorism forces completed a week of explosives investigation training Friday put on the by the US FBI.

The course was designed to instruct Cambodian security personnel in properly investigating a post-blast crime scene involving bombs or improvised explosive devices.

Twenty-eight students from the police, military police, national counterterrorism committee and counterterrorism special forces attended the course.

Cambodia is a willing participant in the US’s regional counterterrorism efforts. The country has a small Muslim population, and in 2003 was found to have harbored Hambali, the former head of Jemaah Islamiyah, the Islamic extremist group responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings.

The FBI maintains a legal office at the US Embassy in Phnom Penh.

Laro Tan, the FBI’s legal attaché in Cambodia, told reporters after closing training that the US investigation agency had provided technical training on researching evidence of blasts.

Hav Lay, a police officer at the counterterrorism office in Phnom Penh, said he had learned to gather evidence and intelligence at crime scenes.

Better training can improve prosecutions based on evidence obtained at crime scenes and would help Cambodian investigations meet US court standards, the embassy said in a statement.

FBI/IRS agents in Cambodia involved in Chhun Yasith case in a bid for Hun Sen's regime?

Legal Attaché Laro Tan accepts his award from DPM Sar Keng.
Laro Tan, the Embassy’s legal attaché, and his colleagues pose with other Cambodia Government officials.

FBI/IRS agents recognized for their service by Deputy Prime Minister Sar Keng

Phnom Penh
December 19, 2008
Source: US Embassy in Cambodia

Laro Tan, the Embassy’s legal attaché, and five of his colleagues from the FBI and the IRS were honored on December 19th at a medal ceremony presided over by Deputy Prime Minister Sar Keng and other Ministry of Interior officials. The group was recognized for their contributions to the arrest of Chhun Yasith, the head of the group known as the Cambodian Freedom Fighters (CFF) which attempted to overthrow the government on December 24th, 2000. They were joined by close to twenty Cambodian officers and civilians who either assisted in the case or were affected by the event. Deputy Chief of Mission Piper Campbell noted in her remarks that the CFF case highlighted what our two countries can achieve when we work together, and she reaffirmed the United State’s commitment to cooperating with Cambodia on law enforcement matters. In his remarks the Deputy Prime Minister echoed Ms. Campbell’s sentiment, stating that such cooperation would lead to the assurance of peace and security in the region.

Back with a badge

Aug 8, 2007
By James Morrison
Embassy Row
Washington Times (USA)

Laro Tan's family fled Cambodia during the savage Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s, but he returned this year as the new American crime fighter at the U.S. Embassy in the capital, Phnom Penh.

"I'm here ... to be a bridge between our countries. For me, especially as a native of Cambodia, it is an honor," he said in an interview posted on the embassy's Web site
(http://phnompenh.usembassy.gov).

Mr. Tan, an FBI agent, is the legal attache assigned to work with the Cambodian National Police to track down fugitives from U.S. justice, capture terrorists and share intelligence on criminal investigations for both countries. He also serves as the legal attache for the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam, although he is headquartered in Cambodia.

"So many of our investigations these days have an overseas connection," he said. "We don't have the authority to make arrests or track leads ourselves in other countries, so we go to our partners and ask for help.

"In return, we offer assistance in their cases with U.S. connections and encourage their agencies and officers to take advantage of the many training programs we offer."

The United States has a history of cooperating with the democratically elected government of Cambodia that dates to at least 2000, when U.S. investigators helped foil an attempted coup.

In 2003, Cambodian authorities tipped U.S. agents searching for the mastermind of the 2002 bombing in Bali, Indonesia, that killed 202 persons. The information led to the arrest of Riduan bin Isamuddin in Thailand.

A typical day for Mr. Tan involves pursuing a fugitive sought by the FBI's New York office and tracing the connections between an Asian gang in San Francisco and cohorts in Cambodia or Vietnam.

"I'm constantly evaluating and providing assessments of threats that might migrate to U.S. shores," he said.

"It's extremely busy. I can tell you that."

Call Embassy Row at 202/636-3297, fax 202/832-7278 or
e-mail jmorrison@washingtontimes.com.

Cambodian-American Laro Tan assigned as Legat for the FBI office in Phnom Penh

LEGAT PHNOM PENH
Our New Outpost in Southeast Asia

08/02/07
US FBI (www.fbi.gov)

When Laro Tan was a child, his family was forced to flee Cambodia during the brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge. Today, he’s back in his native land as an FBI agent working to stand up our new overseas office in its capital city of Phnom Penh.

The office—called a Legal Attaché or “Legat”—is one of some 60 Bureau outposts around the world. Each is headed by a special agent (also called a Legat) who serves as a formal member of the diplomatic staff in the U.S. Embassy and works to build close, mutually beneficial relationships with his or her international colleagues.

We call on these partnerships quite often. “So many of our investigations these days have an overseas connection,” says Tan, who was appointed acting Legat when the office officially opened in May. “We don’t have the authority to make arrests or track leads ourselves in other countries, so we go to our partners and ask for help. In return, we offer assistance in their cases with U.S. connections and encourage their agencies and officers to take advantage of the many training programs we offer.”

Why an office in Phnom Penh? Before, Cambodia was covered by the Bangkok Legat—which is more than 330 miles away from Phnom Penh—making relationship building more difficult. Now, Legat Tan handles both Cambodia and Vietnam, providing more on the ground coverage in the growing region of Southeast Asia.

The day-to-day work of the Legat. “It’s extremely busy, I can tell you that,” says Tan, who is permanently assigned to our Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate in Washington. “The FBI office in New York, say, might need help in tracking a suspect who has fled to Cambodia or who has bank accounts in this country. Or there might be an Asian gang in San Francisco that has ties to Cambodia or Vietnam that needs to be explored. And I’m constantly evaluating and providing assessments of threats that might migrate to U.S. shores.”

His specific partners include the Cambodian National Police, and in Vietnam, the Interpol office of the General Department of the Police, a division of the Ministry of Public Security.

Thanks to these relationships, in place long before the Legat was opened, we’ve shared several key successes in recent years:

• Information and support provided by Cambodian officials helped lead to the capture of wanted terrorist Riduan Bin Isamuddin—aka Hambali—who orchestrated the bombing in Bali that killed more than 200 people in October 2002. Hambali was arrested in Thailand in 2003.
• In November 2000, Cambodian Freedom Fighters tried to overthrow the government by attacking sites throughout Phnom Penh. A joint investigation led to the arrest of several of the subversives.

“In this day and age, the relationships we’ve built and continue to build in Cambodia and Vietnam are invaluable,” says Tan. “That’s why I’m here—to get to know my colleagues personally, to be a bridge between our countries. For me, especially as a native of Cambodia, I consider it an honor.”