Minister of Interior Sar Kheng on Saturday called for the freezing of assets held by perpetrators of drug trafficking cases. Facebook
Minister of Interior Sar Kheng on Saturday called for the freezing of assets held by perpetrators of drug trafficking cases.
Speaking during a groundbreaking ceremony of a temple at Wat Thmey Pagoda in Prey Veng province, Sar Kheng said assets belonging to anyone charged with drug-related offences could be used “to serve terrorists and finance other crimes”.
“Drug trafficking is an illegal activity. When drug traffickers obtain money, it is called dirty or black money. The assets held by the perpetrators, such as money, house or land, ought to be frozen until the authorities could prove that those assets were not tied to their trafficking activities,” he stressed.
He warned that drug trafficking cases, if left unsettled, could create an unfavourable image of Cambodia as a haven for black money.
“When the international community regards us as a money-laundering destination, we will be blacklisted and our banking system will be undermined. This [drug offences] is a serious matter,” he said.
Sar Kheng further said people aged between 15 and 40 are vulnerable to narcotic abuses and that illegal use and trafficking of drugs jeopardised society and cost immense human resource losses.
He noted that his ministry had laid out plans to eliminate the use and distribution of illegal substances at entertainment venues across the country, with more attention to be paid to the rural areas.
“To tackle this issue, I appeal for the participation of relevant parties. The police cannot do the job alone. Don’t let our society be controlled by drugs,” he said.
Neak Yuthea, the deputy secretary-general of the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) said he supported Sar Kheng’s latest directive.
He also suggested that the confiscated assets ought to be used to fund anti-drugs campaigns.
“If the court finds that those assets were obtained from drug [trafficking activities], the authorities [should] confiscate them and the funds could be used in many ways."
“Firstly, the fund can be used to compensate for the damages on the victims. Secondly, as an incentive to law enforcement officers who are active in their jobs. And finally, we can use the funds to continue our battle against narcotics ... to build a medical centre, for instance.” Yuthea told The Post on Sunday.
Meas Sovann, the executive director of the Drug Addict Relief Association of Cambodia, expressed his support for Sar Kheng’s directive.
“It is a good initiative to freeze the assets until we determine whether or not they had been procured illegally. Minister Sar Kheng is right,” he said.
The NACD previously reported that as of June 4, there were 7,294 people who had been arrested by the authorities due to drug-related offences.
Of the number, it added, 3,973 were dealers and had been sent to court, while 3,321 others were users and had been admitted to the rehabilitation centres.
Three Chinese nationals were held at the Phnom Penh International Airport last week after having travelled from Hong Kong with $900,000 in cash.
The latest instance added to the spate of recent arrests at Cambodian airports of travellers with large amounts of cash from unknown sources.
Earlier this month, Siem Reap authorities detained two South Korean nationals for bringing in $2.2 million through the provincial airport. They had also travelled from Hong Kong.
In April, three Chinese men were held after they attempted to smuggle $3.52 million to be allegedly laundered in the Kingdom.
