Five students were arrested in Battambang’s Banan district on Saturday afternoon by provincial and district police for assembling and detonating illegal explosives, according to local authorities.

Battambang provincial deputy police chief Chet Vanny said yesterday that authorities received a report on Wednesday about a group of students on motorbikes throwing explosives on the streets, alarming bystanders.

Vanny, who led the investigation, said that five students – Un Phanet, 18, Orn Sopheap, 19, and three minors – were arrested, and some evidence, including explosives, was confiscated.

According to Vanny, the youths admitted to assembling the explosives themselves.

“They took the explosives from firecrackers, about four to five, and pebbles . . . They mixed them, put them in plastic bags and taped them,” he said.

The students have been sent to court for further action, while authorities are looking for the people responsible for teaching them the methods of creating the explosives.

“We do not believe that those students know the method to create such explosive devices. We believe that experts have taught them with bad intentions, which can impact social security.”