A police siege of a Kratie province forest passed its 24th hour last night as authorities sought to arrest three armed robbery suspects who invaded a home in Snuol district’s Pi Thnou commune on Saturday evening.

In what is just the latest in a high-profile spate of armed robberies nationwide, three masked men entered the home of 55-year-old cassava trader Nam Kemhen at 7:10pm on Saturday, according to Pi Thnou commune police chief Um Hun. Brandishing a pistol and a rifle, they demanded Kemhen hand over all the money in the house.

After taking 90 million riel (about $22,560), the thieves fled into a nearby forest, leaving Kemhen unharmed.

The cassava trader then phoned the police, who arrived shortly thereafter to cordon off the forest.

“They robbed [her] and ran into the forest behind the house, and our forces are surrounding the forest so that we can find and arrest them, but nothing special has happened yet,” Hun said yesterday afternoon.

Speaking yesterday evening, Hun said the thieves were still at large and the hunt for them was ongoing.