At the end of April, authorities in Laos returned more than a dozen Cambodians who hopped the border into their country for the purposes of logging, a police official said yesterday.

The 16 Cambodians were initially detained in Champa Sak province, said Va Sophan, the police chief in Stung Treng’s Siem Pang district.

He added that they “were released in compliance” with a memorandum of understanding between both countries on the issue of repatriation.

Border authorities in Cambodia also let go three Laos late last month who were accused of illegally crossing to hunt wildlife, an act that Va Sophan referred to as a “petty crime”.

He said that both sides charged about $300 per person in fees for “transportation, food and security”.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tep Nimol at [email protected]