An alleged American drug dealer was arrested in Daun Penh district by Cambodian anti-drug police working in conjunction with US Drug Enforcement Agency officials yesterday, and is scheduled to be extradited at the end of this week, police said.

Major General Sok Chour, deputy director and spokesman for the Ministry of Interior’s Anti-Drug Police Department, said Christopher James Petersen, 38, was arrested by Cambodian police for illegally staying in Cambodia on an expired passport, and will be handed over to Bangkok-based DEA agents who want him on drug charges in the US.

“He has had a warrant for his arrest from an American court, and had escaped to hide in Cambodia as a tourist,” Chour said. “He will be extradited to his country or handed over to the DEA after he is officially charged by our Cambodian court with illegal immigration,” he added, noting that Petersen could be extradited as soon as Sunday.