A former military officer and his niece were tried by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday for allegedly selling drugs in Prey Sar prison and running an illegal lottery in Phnom Penh last year.

Presiding judge Lim Lipmeng said that military captain and bodyguard Heang Pov, 36, was charged with drug trafficking, operating illegal gambling and illegal weapons use. His niece, student Nouv Kanha, 24, was charged with eliminating evidence.

“Heang Pov was a drug ringleader. He used to take drugs to sell to prisoners in Prey Sar prison,” he said. “He was arrested while police raided his house. And while he was being arrested, he ordered his niece, Nouv Kanha, to take the drugs from his house and dump them in the toilet.”

In the raid, police allegedly seized many packages of powdered methamphetamine totalling about 3 kilograms, a drug scale, a pistol, lottery notes and about $97,000 in cash.

The two confessed at trial yesterday, with both saying that they had learned the error of their ways, and requesting reduced sentences. A verdict is due on July 7.