Anti-drugs experts from China pledged their continuing support for Cambodia’s efforts to combat drug trafficking on Friday.

Meas Vyrith, deputy secretary-general of the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD), said the Cambodia-China Bilateral Meeting on Drug Control Co-operation gave the two nations an opportunity to discuss Cambodia’s efforts to fight cross-border smuggling, with China pledging technical support to Cambodia.

Vyrith added that the 12 Chinese nationals arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking this year were thought to be involved in the transit of methamphetamines through Vietnam into China, and in the shipment of the drug production ingredient safrole oil to China through Sihanoukville port.

“Cambodia is facing three issues: international drug trafficking, people attempting to use Cambodia [as a base] to produce illegal drugs and the production of safrole oil,” he said, adding that Cambodian authorities worked on nearly 600 trafficking cases during the first nine months of 2012, and arrested more than 1,200 people from 12 different countries.

Yo Sun Long, secretary-general of the NACD, said Cambodia and China signed a memorandum of understanding on combating drug trafficking and abuse, as well as restricting precursor chemicals such as safrole, in November 2008.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sen David at [email protected]