PHNOM PENH: At least 130 suspected human traffickers were arrested during the first half of 2025, while 278 victims were rescued, according to the National Committee for Counter Trafficking (NCCT).
NCCT permanent chair Chou Bun Eng shared the figures during an event held to mark the National Interfaith Day Against Trafficking in Persons on Wednesday (Aug 20).
She said a total of 99 cases involving human trafficking and the sex trade were investigated and suppressed in the first half of the year. Compared to the same period in 2024, this marked a decline of five cases, equal to 4.8%.
The crimes were investigated by the Department of Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection of the National Police General Commissariat under the Ministry of Interior, together with municipal and provincial police forces and the National Military Police.
She explained that among the cases, there were 27 human trafficking cases, an increase of five. Thirty-seven suspects (including four women) were arrested, while 81 victims were rescued, 21 of them women. There were 72 cases involving the sex trade, with 93 suspects arrested (19 women), and 197 victims rescued.
Bun Eng warned that in these difficult times — marked by global crises, fear, disasters, wars and armed conflicts, including the recent clashes in Cambodia — “criminals have exploited the situation to deceive people and lure them into becoming victims of trafficking and various other forms of exploitation”.
She noted that the provincial and municipal courts handled 236 cases related to these crimes, consisting of 118 old cases and the same number of new ones. They involved 354 defendants, with 101 sentenced to prison. Through these proceedings, justice was delivered to 243 victims (211 of them female), including 76 minors.
Through the NCCT, the Royal Government of Cambodia has introduced strategic action plans to respond to human trafficking in all its forms, she explained.
These include four strategies: Focusing on prevention, strengthening the criminal justice system, protecting victims, and enhancing cooperation with international partners in legal and normative frameworks to combat human trafficking as a cross-border crime.
The national day event, themed “Religious Harmony in Cambodia as a Potential Force in Combating all Forms of Human Trafficking in the Era of Technological Advancement” was presided over by Minister of Interior Sar Sokha, who serves as chairman of the NCCT. Around 2,000 participants attended the ceremony. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
