Phnom Penh anti-drug police sent 10 of 32 people to court on Sunday after detaining them in a drug raid at a slum area in Russey Keo district’s Sanke commune. Police also seized 171.86g of methamphetamine.

Municipal anti-drug police chief Iv Phearith said on Sunday that his officers and local authorities had investigated the construction of some shacks near Tuol Sangke I commune police station.

He noted many outsiders visited the area and police suspected they were using it for drug crimes.

At about 7pm on Thursday, they began stopping people to have their urine tested and the results came back positive for drug use, he noted.

Deputy prosecutor Soeun Moniroth then granted a warrant to the police to raid the area, which led to the detention of the 32.

“It was a lawless area and we took action to eliminate the drug issue so that it becomes a better location for people to live in,” Phearith said.

He said police detained a 31-year-old man in possession of 169g of drugs and a woman, 23, who had 0.45g on her. He said they were the main suppliers in the area.

He said police questioned the group and 10 of the 32 people were sent to the court on Sunday for their involvement with selling and buying drugs.

“The man and woman are traffickers who possessed a lot of drugs,” he said, adding that police did not send the 22 others to court because they were drug addicts and not engaged in distribution.

He said police released them because their parents promised to send their children to drug rehabilitation centres for treatment.