Cambodia arrests four foreigners over illicit drugs

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua): Cambodia's anti-drug police have arrested a group of four foreigners for manufacturing, possessing and trafficking more than 40kg illicit drugs, the country's Anti-Drug Police Department (ADP) said in a news release on Thursday (May 26).

The four men were arrested at two secretive drug labs, with one of them in mango farms in western Kampong Speu province, and the other at a condo in capital Phnom Penh, on May 19 after an investigation for more than two months.

"A total of 40.5kg of ketamine and 1.42 tonnes of its ingredients were confiscated from the suspects during the raids," the police said.

A large number of equipment used for manufacturing and packaging drugs as well as 11.5 tonnes of chemicals thought to be used for producing drugs were also impounded, the police added.

On May 18, the kingdom caught a group of three foreigners in Phnom Penh and in the coastal province of Preah Sihanouk, seizing a total of 30.4kg of heroin, ecstasy, crystal methamphetamine, methamphetamine, ketamine, and nimetazepam.

The Asian nation has no death sentence for drug traffickers. Under its law, someone found guilty of trafficking more than 80gm of drugs could be jailed for life.

According to the ADP, Cambodia nabbed 4,602 drug suspects, including 66 foreigners, during the first four months of 2022, confiscating 1.55 tons of illicit drugs and 173 tons of ingredients.