PHNOM PENH: Authorities arrested 49 suspects in a raid on an online scam operation at a hotel in Sen Sok district on Sunday (March 22), as part of ongoing efforts to curb cybercrime in Cambodia.
The operation, led by the Phnom Penh Unified Command, targeted a site in Ou Bek K’am commune where suspects were allegedly running fraudulent “investment schemes” aimed at victims in Malaysia and other countries.
Those detained were mostly foreign nationals — primarily Chinese — along with individuals from Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam and a single Cambodian.
“On the ground floor, there were 7 people in the security camera room, including 6 Chinese and 1 Vietnamese woman,” according to the Secretariat of the Commission for Combating Online Scams (CCOS).
“On the second and third floors, there were 26 people in the dormitory, including 25 Chinese and 1 Malaysian, and on the roof, where online scams were carried out, there were 16 people, including 12 Chinese, 2 Malaysians, 1 Burmese woman and 1 Cambodian woman,” it added.
Officers seized a large volume of equipment believed to have been used in the operation, including 60 all-in-one computers, 31 CPUs, a laptop, 687 mobile phones and 46 Malaysian SIM cards.
Preliminary findings show the group had recently relocated from Tbong Khmum province.
Authorities said further investigations are underway to identify those behind the network.
The CCOS reiterated that Prime Minister Hun Manet has pledged to eliminate online scam operations from Cambodia by April 2026, warning that offenders will face strict legal action. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
