Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Takeo police nab 20, destroy 4,000 marijuana plants

Takeo police nab 20, destroy 4,000 marijuana plants

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
The anti-drug department in Takeo province had raided six locations growing marijuana and burned more than 4,000 plants in a two-day operation in Kiri Vong district’s Prey Ampoak and Preah Bat Chonchum communes. POLICE

Takeo police nab 20, destroy 4,000 marijuana plants

Anti-drug police reported on April 19 that the anti-drug department in Takeo had successfully raided six locations growing marijuana and burned more than 4,000 plants.

Vong Sokchea, acting chief of the anti-drug office at Takeo provincial police station told The Post that the operation took place over two days from April 17-18. The raids were in conjunction with the military police of Prey Ampoak and Preah Bat Chonchum communes, Kiri Vong district.

“For the past three days, our forces have found and burned 4,285 plants. Also, eight water containers used to irrigate the crops were destroyed,” he added.

Sokchea said during the first day of the operation, police investigated a location in Preah Bat Chonchum commune and seized 535 marijuana plants growing on 132sqm in the Thma Sangkran area.

The next day, authorities searched the Prey Ampoak area and found 3,750 marijuana plants which were planted at four locations.

The report said authorities detained 20 suspects for marijuana trafficking and planting. Their cases have already been sent to prosecutors.

“We detained the suspects for illegal marijuana planting, which still happens in Preah Bat Chonchum and Prey Ampoak communes. These two communes are located near ponds and many small mountains near the Cambodia-Vietnam border,” Sokchea said.

Prey Ampoak commune police chief Nhang Sang told The Post that people in Prey Ampoak commune do not generally farm but they like to fish, hunt, and grow marijuana like their ancestors.

From 1980 until 1990, the people in this commune grew marijuana in exchange for rice and other materials. However, the government considered marijuana plants addictive and banned them.

Some villagers migrated to become construction workers or factory workers in different parts of the Kingdom. Some people still continue to grow marijuana plants near the mountains and ponds which are far from their villages to hide from authorities, he added.

“If we only check their farms in their villages, we would not find marijuana plants because they do not plant with other crops like before. Therefore, authorities rarely find and the suspects who grow the plants,” he said.

MOST VIEWED

  • Girl from Stung Meanchey dump now college grad living in Australia

    After finishing her foundational studies at Trinity College and earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Ron Sophy, a girl who once lived at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump and scavenged for things to sell, is now working at a private

  • Ministry orders all schools, public and private, to close for SEA Games

    From April 20 to May 18, all public and private educational institutions will be closed to maintain order and support Cambodia's hosting of the 32nd SEA Games and 12th ASEAN Para Games, said a directive from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport. Cambodia will host the

  • Wat Phnom hornbills attract tourists, locals

    Thanks to the arrival of a friendly flock of great hornbills, Hour Rithy, a former aviculturist – or raiser of birds – in Kratie province turned Phnom Penh tuk tuk driver, has seen a partial return to his former profession. He has become something of a guide

  • Almost 9K tourists see equinox sunrise at Angkor Wat

    Nearly 9,000 visitors – including 2,226 international tourists – gathered at Angkor Wat on March 21 to view the spring equinox sunrise, according to a senior official of the Siem Reap provinical tourism department. Ngov Seng Kak, director of the department, said a total of 8,726 people visited Angkor Wat to

  • Angkor Beer strengthens national pride with golden new look and fresher taste

    Angkor Beer – the "Gold of Angkor" – has a new look, one that is more stylish and carries a premium appeal, as well as a fresher taste and smoother flavour, making it the perfect choice for any gathering. Angkor Beer recently launched its new design, one

  • PM urges end to ‘baseless’ international Ream base accusations

    Prime Minister Hun Sen urges an end to “baseless” foreign accusations surrounding the development of the Kingdom’s Ream Naval Base, as the US has consistently suggested that the base is being expanded to accommodate a Chinese military presence. Hun Sen renewed his calls while