UK HAI Seila, the director of investigations at the Ministry of Interior’s General Department of Immigration, told The Post on Tuesday that 235 Chinese nationals – 36 of whom were women – will be deported to China after police detained them for scams over the internet using Voice over Internet Protocol – a type of internet phone service.

The Anti-terrorism and Transnational Crimes Department at the ministry worked with Takeo police and Military Police under a Takeo provincial court order on Monday to raid four locations in relation to internet crimes. The locations were in the province’s Tram Kak and Bati districts.

Hai Seila said the General Department of Immigration will deport the Chinese suspects to China very soon, but Chinese authorities have not provided a specific date to accept them.

He said authorities arrested the Chinese suspects and confiscated many types of equipment, while the police sent them to the General Department of Immigration for further investigation.

“[The General Department of Immigration] is questioning them, and we have already informed the Chinese police. We don’t know when they will come to receive the Chinese suspects. We want to send them very soon,” he said.

Takeo provincial police chief Sok Samnang told The Post on Tuesday that the suspects worked at four different sites. In total, the police arrested and detained 235 Chinese nationals and confiscated computers, fixed-line phones, mobile phones and walkie-talkies.

Immediately after the arrest, the police sent the suspects to the General Department of Immigration in accordance with legal procedures.

“I sent the suspects to the General Department of Immigration. I don’t know what the senior officials will do with them,” he said.

Nget Chanthy, the provincial deputy military police commander in charge of the criminal department, told The Post that the Takeo provincial military police took part in the crackdown and reports will be sent to the General Department of Immigration.

Samnang added that Takeo province does not have a history of crimes involving Chinese nationals. There is no data recording the number of Chinese nationals currently staying in Takeo province. It will have to wait until the year-end survey to find out.

A General Department of Immigration report issued on February 27 said immigrants in Cambodia total 46,776 families, equal to 176,812 people, of which 79,728 were female.

The report said among those 176,812 immigrants, 20,218 families (equal to 73,397 people of which 35,888 are female), hold five different citizenships, use seven types of irregular administrative documents including residence books (18,580 copies), family books (2,177 copies), birth certificates (11,336 copies), marriage certificates (241 copies), Cambodian ID (6,722 copies), Cambodian passports (632 copies) and land titles (41 copies).