Five suspects were questioned by the Svay Rieng Provincial Court on May 10 regarding the alleged trafficking of more than 11kg of drugs after being arrested on May 5-6 in Phnom Penh, and the provinces of Svay Rieng and Kandal.
Svay Rieng provincial deputy police chief in charge of anti-drug crimes Keo Sotha identified the suspects as Hu Tek, Le Young Kuo, and Nguyen Than Lin, all Vietnamese nationals. The other two, Heng Sovatha and Nut Bunthoeun, are Cambodians.
According to Sotha, more than 11kg of drugs were seized including over 9kg of methamphetamine and more than 1kg of ketamine.
He said one of the suspects, Hu Tek, was arrested at a traffic checkpoint in Kraol Kor commune of Svay Rieng province’s Svay Chrum district with 10 large packages of drugs. Police then arrested two more suspects in the province’s Kampong Ro district.
Confessions from the trio led to the arrest of two accomplices in Phnom Penh and Kandal province, both were suspected of smuggling drugs across the border to Vietnam.
"As for the ringleaders, I’m requesting a court warrant to search for them as we have already identified them," he said.
In a separate case in Battambang province on May 10, the provincial Military Police arrested a man for alleged illegal weapon possession.
Provincial anti-crime bureau chief Lach Vann said the suspect, Sam Sok Panhavoan, a 25-year-old blacksmith, lived in Prek Preah Sdech commune’s Chamkar Russey village in Battambang town.
"I have sent him to court for further legal action," he said.
Officers collected evidence including one M16 rifle, 10 M16 magazines, four AK-47 magazines and two Matayet magazines. There were also 242 M16 bullets, 64 AK-47 bullets, seven AK-47 assault rifle bullets, four mines, one Toussaint, two military boots, one parachute uniform and one military raincoat.
Regarding his possession of these weapons, Vann said they actually belonged to Sok Panhavoan’s deceased father, a former military official. But when his father passed away, Sok Panhavoan kept the weapons instead of returning them to his father’s military unit.
