Two suspects were placed in pre-trial detention on October 17 for allegedly trafficking nearly 20kg of illegal drugs in Svay Rieng province.
Tep Phalla, administrative secretary of the Svay Rieng Provincial Court, told The Post on October 18 that the duo were arrested on October 13 while attempting to cross the border into Vietnam though Bavet town.
"They have been charged on two counts – drug trafficking and illegal firearm possession," he said.
According to the provincial police’s report issued on October 18, at 7:30 pm on October 13, Bavet town police and officers from the provincial anti-drug bureau were acting on a tip that identified the two suspects as traffickers.
The suspects are Vanth, 18, a Vietnamese national living in Doeum Sleng village of Phnom Penh’s Chbar Ampov commune and district and Van Sopha, 20, a Cambodian citizen who was living in the same village.
According to the report, the evidence included 3,502g of heroin, 2,986g of methamphetamines and 13,000g of ketamine, all of which weighed 19,988g, or just under 20kg. The pair apparently intended to smuggle the drugs into Vietnam.
In addition to the drugs, the police found a K54 handgun loaded with eight bullets and they also seized a motorcycle from the pair.
Bavet town police chief Em Sovannarith, who led the operation, said the case was now in the hands of the court and prosecutors.
