A composite image provided by the Military Police. military police
Three Thais have been arrested over possession and distribution of an illegal substance in Banteay Meanchey, Poipet Town Military Police Commander Nuon Ninaro said on Tuesday.
On Monday evening, the authorities raided the Poipet Casino Resort in the province’s Kbal Spean I village, arresting three Thais and seizing 120 grams of methamphetamine, scales and drug paraphernalia.
Ninaro named the the arrested suspects as Soriyan Panchhalangkun, 48, from Chachoengsao province; Vimuthiya Phasok, 37, from Amnat Charoen province; and Wak Chhilakvit, 22, from Bangkok.
“They were arrested for drug distribution and consumption in a room above the casino. Currently, they are being detained and interrogated at the Poipet Town Military Police base,” he confirmed.
In Cambodia, methamphetamine consumption and distribution is said to occur almost everywhere, initially being brought in from the Golden Triangle (Thailand, Myanmar and Laos) by drug gangs.
In this case, Meas Vyrith, a spokesman for the National Authority for Combating Drugs, told The Post on Tuesday that the crackdown on drugs is vital to ensure the development of the country. This problem, he said, requires the participation of all countries affected in the region to prevent the production, consumption and distribution of illegal substances.
“To succeed on the drug problem, it demands all of us to participate and prevent all forms of drug crimes such as possession, import, production and distribution of illegal substances by investigating and destroying the structure of drug criminals,” he said.
According to Vyrith, 85 percent of the 100,000 drug users arrested in the previous few years were found to have used methamphetamine, while 10 percent are distributors.
According to a report on combating drugs, which The Post received from the National Authority for Combating Drugs on Tuesday, 45 percent of drug users and traffickers were arrested in eight provinces – Battambang, Banteay Meancheay, Kandal, Kratie, Preah Sihanouk, Kampong Speu, Tbong Khmum and Phnom Penh.
