A two-star general and one other man were arrested in Phnom Penh by a joint force of police and military police, led by the anti-drug department at the Ministry of Interior, on suspicion of drug trafficking, police said yesterday.

According to department director Khieu Saman, General Chan Rithydy, the deputy chief of staff of the army’s infantry division and an unnamed associate were arrested at a luxury villa located in O’Andong 1 village, in Meanchey district’s Prek Pra commune.

In the raid, police seized more than one kilogram of crystalline ecstasy, and nearly 85,000 pills of an amphetamine-type stimulant known as WY.

Rithydy isn’t the first high-ranking military officer to be linked to drug busts this year.

In May, an assistant to the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Cabinet of General Command was caught with a cache of various drugs. Last month, a former major general and a Ministry of National Defence deputy commander were sentenced to 12 and 16 years in prison, respectively, for drug trafficking and illegal weapon possession.

Ky Bunnara, the deputy municipal prosecutor, would not comment in detail, but said the decision to arrest Rithydy was made after a lengthy investigation.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lieng Sarith at [email protected]