Drug crackdown

More than a dozen people were arrested in Siem Reap drug busts on Thursday and Friday, with nine suspected dealers sent to prison and six users ordered to a rehabilitation centre, police said yesterday.

A total of 15 suspects were arrested in the raids and charged by the magistrate court over the weekend, said Oum Sa Ath, director of the Siem Reap provincial anti-drug department.

A raid in Siem Reap’s Svay Dangkom commune on Thursday netted 12 suspects found with 13 packages of crystal methamphetamine, known locally as ya ma, he said.

A further three suspects were arrested in a Friday raid on a different house where police seized a luxury SUV, cash and a bag of ya ma, he said.

“We arrested the suspects at their homes because they publicly delivered the drugs. They have been charged and sent to prison after questioning. They will stay in prison for two to five years if convicted,” Sa Ath said.