The Phnom Penh Municipal Police yesterday paraded before members of the press 15 alleged repeat robbers who were arrested for stealing motorcycles, phones and possessing drugs.

The thieves were caught during a police operation that started on Friday and continued through Monday, with the group sent to the municipal court yesterday, said police official Eng Sorphea.

“The 15 robbers were from two different groups and had actively robbed motorcycles in Phnom Penh,” he said.

According to the police report, the suspects came from a mixture of backgrounds, and mostly targeted hapless motorists for their motorbikes.

Additionally, police allegedly found the suspects to be in possession of two pistols, 71 packets of drugs, seven number plates and an assortment of meat cleavers.

The groups frequented Tuol Kork, Por Sen Chey, Chamkarmon and Dangkor districts and were accused of having committed at least 13 robberies so far. Sorphea said the police had asked citizens who had been recently robbed to come and claim their motorcycles.