Mass deportation

The 33 Taiwanese and one Chinese national charged this week for taking part in a phone extortion scam will be deported later this week to stand trial in their home countries, said Colonel Kheng Tito, spokesman for the National Military Police.

“They have been charged with extortion ... [and] will be sent to the Immigration Police Department at the Interior Ministry so we can prepare to deport them this week,” Tito said.

The group was arrested last Friday at two different locations in the city’s Tuol Kork district after Cambodian forces received tips from their Chinese counterparts, he added.

There were also three Cambodians arrested initially, but they were later released as they had no part in the scam, said Tito.

“To combat these foreign mafia groups operating in Cambodia…we are co-operating with foreign police agents to crack down on their illegal activity,” he added.  

As of this January, according to a Ministry of Interior report, over 500 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals have been busted on similar charges since 2010.