A DAUN Penh district police officer and two other men are facing drug-trafficking charges in Phnom Penh Municipal Court after they were arrested last week in possession of nearly 500 grams of methamphetamine, a court prosecutor said Sunday.

“The investigating judge has ordered the three men to serve pretrial detention on the charge of drug trafficking pending a further investigation,” Sok Roeun said.

Lut Serey Both, 35, the police officer, Sem Bunsan, 34, and Tha Piseth, 39, were arrested at a coffee shop in Daun Penh district on Tuesday after they were found to be in possession of 498 grams of methamphetamine, said Moek Dara, the secretary general of the National Authority for Combating Drugs and director of the Interior Ministry’s anti-drug trafficking department.

Sok Roeun said the length of any sentence handed down in the event of a guilty verdict would depend on the results of a laboratory test designed to determine the amount of pure methamphetamine the men had in their possession at the time of their arrest.

Moek Dara said the three men could face life imprisonment if found guilty.

“They could face a sentence of life imprisonment if more than 300 grams is found to be the pure substance,” Moek Dara said.

Later this week, the NACD plans to burn 20 tonnes of drugs seized in Phnom Penh and Preah Sihanouk, Pursat and Battambang provinces, Moek Dara said.

He said the ceremony would take place Thursday in Battambang’s Sangke district.