Armed police inspect the location of an online scam compound in Svay Rieng province’s Bavet town, following a November 4 raid. - Kulen Daily News via PPP/ANN
PHNOM PENH: A total of 658 suspects, most of them foreigners, were arrested by Cambodian authorities in a major operation which targeted two suspected online scam operations in Bavet town, Svay Rieng province.
The November 4 raids were carried out by the Commission for Combating Technology- Related Online Scams under the Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with the national and provincial police, explained Touch Sokhak, interior ministry deputy spokesperson, on November 7.
The first target was a building located on a concrete road in Bavet Kandal village, Bavet commune, where 57 foreigners (including 15 women) from six nationalities were found. Also detained were 12 Cambodians, working as cleaners, security staff and translators.
The second target was a pair of twin nine-story buildings on Kampong Spean Road in the same area, where police discovered 601 foreign nationals of four different nationalities.
Following a preliminary forensic analysis, it was determined that the first site was being used for online scam operations involving the impersonation of authorities to threaten victims. The second site hosted investment-related scams, including fake high-profit investment schemes, forged banking platforms, romance scams, fake marathon registrations and the use of AI deepfake videos and images to forge identities.
General Keo Vanthan, deputy chair of the inter-ministerial committee, noted that, under the firm leadership of Prime Minister Hun Manet, Cambodian authorities are focussed on eliminating online crimes, arresting offenders, sending them to court for prosecution and deporting them to their home countries. Cambodia also shares information with both regional and international law enforcement agencies to dismantle transnational scam networks.
Sokhak emphasised that this latest operation is further evidence of Cambodia’s genuine commitment and practical efforts to help combat this global problem.
During the 6th legislative term, Cambodia expelled 21,000 foreigners linked to such crimes; under the current seventh-mandate government, 15,000 more were deported in just the past two years.
In the first nine months of 2025, the National Police investigated 48 separate online scam operations, deporting 2,722 foreign nationals for their involvement. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
