Four men were arrested for trying to smuggle 40kg of meth into Kampong Thom. Police
National Anti-Drug Department police collaborated with Kampong Thom provincial police to arrest four men on Monday and seized 40kg of crystal methamphetamine at a restaurant in Samnak village, in Santuk district’s Kakoh commune, deputy National Police chief Mok Chito said on Tuesday.
Chito, who is also deputy secretary-general of the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) told The Post that the four male suspects included a 32-year-old Thai national.
He said the other three suspects were Cambodian nationals, two aged 42 and 53 from Banteay Meanchey province, and a 40-year-old resident of Battambang province.
Chito said the men had been sent to Kampong Thom provincial police headquarters along with the evidence – including 40 packets of crystal methamphetamine weighing 1kg each, a Toyota Highlander and a Ford Ranger.
The suspects would then be questioned to put together a case to be presented in court, he said.
“Previously, other criminals have trafficked drugs from the Golden Triangle to Cambodia through Laos, but this team transported the drugs into the Kingdom through Thailand.
“Therefore, our police officers will work with the Thai police to search for the ringleaders and other accomplices,” Chito said.
Chito said the men imported the drugs through Oddar Meanchey province’s O’Smach international border checkpoint with Thailand.
He said before Monday’s bust, a specialist team had spent more than a month investigating the suspects’ activities.
Kampong Thom provincial police chief Ouk Kosal said on Tuesday that, witnessed by journalists, the police cut open the 40 packets and emptied the drugs onto a large mat so they could be examined and tested in front of the four suspects.
“Based on the tests, the drugs are a type of crystal methamphetamine. The drug has become widespread in Cambodia, but this is the first time that Kampong Thom provincial police have seized a large quantity of it,” Kosal said.
Once the haul had been examined, he said, the police repacked the drugs to be sent as evidence to the Kampong Thom Provincial Court.
Kosal said the police would send the suspects to the Kampong Thom Provincial Court on Wednesday morning. “I appeal to all people, especially students and youths, to steer clear of drugs,” he said.
