A 12-year-old girl was briefly detained in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district on Tuesday for distributing methamphetamines, which she was selling for a woman who lives near her home, according to police.

Officers had thought something was suspicious when they saw the girl openly selling drugs at 10am in Russei Keo district’s Tuol Sangke commune, district police chief Som Bunny said yesterday.

After the girl’s arrest, police seized a package of methamphetamines that she was trying to conceal in plastic covers.

Methamphetamines are fast becoming the drug of choice in Cambodia, due to their easy access and relatively cheap high.

Police let the girl go yesterday after she told them a woman from her neighbourhood had sent her out to sell the drugs.

“She was not responsible for this drug trafficking,” Som Bunny said.

He added that the girl had been promised about $12.50 if she sold the entire package.

To contact the reporter on this story: Buth Reaksmey Kongkea at [email protected]