A suspect in Stung Treng province’s Stung Treng district was charged with selling methamphetamine yesterday after being arrested on Saturday with nearly 4,000 tablets of the drug, police said.

Nou Huor, provincial head of anti-drug police, said Sek Pheakdey, 30, was busted in a raid just outside Prek village.

“I know that for this case, the deputy prosecutor of Stung Treng Provincial Court, Chea Pich, is in charge of it, and he tells me that the court will detain the suspect for prosecution for illegal drug dealing,” he said.

According to Huor, authorities had been watching Pheakdey for some time, ultimately setting up deals between him and undercover officers.

On Saturday, an officer made an appointment to meet Pheakdey in Prek village. While he was exchanging money with the suspect, police rushed the building.

Another suspect foresaw the raid and escaped, he added.

The suspect reportedly maintained that the deal was his first, and that the drugs had been imported from Laos, but Huor said that he doubted the veracity of the suspect’s answers.