Experts from the Ministry of Interior’s Department of Counter-terrorism and Transnational Crime continued to question 28 Chinese nationals on Wednesday following their arrest in Phnom Penh in connection with a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) online money extortion scam.
The suspects were arrested on Tuesday in Sen Sok district’s Khmuonh commune.
“We are questioning them further but they have essentially told us everything already. We will pass on the information we glean from them to all relevant parties, so they have everything they need to prepare the necessary documents and make a report."
“We will either deport them to China or send them through the Cambodian court system,” Y Sokhy, the head of the Department of Counter-terrorism and Transnational Crime, said on Wednesday.
The arrests came after a careful investigation, and additional tip-offs from the public in regards to the VoIP scam which targeted fellow Chinese nationals, Sokhy said.
“After receiving detailed information, a task force from the Department of Counter-terrorism and Transnational Crime, with the cooperation of Phnom Penh Municipal Court deputy prosecutor Seng Hieng, launched a crackdown operation and arrested the Chinese suspects,” he said.
Sen Sok district police chief Hour Mengvang told The Post on Wednesday that the 28 suspects were conducting their secret operation from a luxury villa in Khmuonh commune.
“My team participated in the crackdown and followed orders from senior officials. I have sent the case to the Department of Counter-terrorism and Transnational Crime. After that, I don’t know what action they plan to take,” Mengvang said.
According to a department report, the authority confiscated equipment during the raid, including a Lexus RX300 sport utility vehicle, 11 Nokia mobile phones, four unspecified mobile phones, five iPad Minis, six modems, three laptops, one printer, one shredder, some documents and a camera.
