Authorities in Phnom Penh on Friday arrested 39 Chinese nationals for suspected involvement in a phone-based extortion ring, the Cambodian National Police announced on their website yesterday.

A raid by Ministry of Interior police found 27 men and 12 women using a house in the capital’s Chamkarmon district to make unsourced calls to China using voice over internet protocol, the website says.

Authorities do not know the suspects’ identities and are investigating further, it says.

The website notes this was one of many recent arrests resulting from an investigation into international phone scams based in Cambodia.

After a raid in January, police reported that more than 500 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals accused of extortion had been deported since 2010.

Government authorities from the Ministry of Interior and the Department of Intelligence referred questions to National Police spokesman Kirt Chantharith, who could not be reached.