Two Vietnamese Held over 600kg Drugs Haul
Two Vietnamese were arrested in Phnom Penh capital for trafficking nearly 700kg of drugs. Photo: General Commissariat of National Police
- By Meng Seavmey
- March 22, 2024 7:10 PM
PHNOM PENH – Two Vietnamese men, one a teenager, have been arrested for trafficking more than 600kg of drugs in Phnom Penh.
Vietnamese authorities based in Cambodia tipped off the Anti-Drug Department on Mar. 19 that the drugs were being transferred either through the border of Laos or of Thailand bound for Vietnam.
The department sent officers to investigate. The General Commissariat of the National Police said on Mar. 22 that the drugs were kept in the capital.
The force cracked down on the stored drugs at two locations.
At a condominium in Chakto Muk commune of Daun Penh district, police seized 106.09 grams of ecstasy, MDMA and ketamine and arrested Nguyen Hoan Dinh, 45.
Police detained Duong Tien, 17, at the second operation in Boeng Keng Kang 1 commune, and seized 620kg of ice, ketamine, marijuana and other substances.
Police also seized weapons, documents and travel materials. These included a gun and 12 bullets, two passports, two workbooks, one bank card, one COVID-19 vaccination card, one Vietnamese ID card, one international driving license, one international driving book, two big and four small scales, two ironing machines and some packed drugs, two phones and two cars.
The operation was led by department deputy director Major General In Song, in conjunction with Phnom Municipal Court deputy prosecutor Seth Vannak.
Police are still investigating the case and filing a lawsuit in accordance with legal procedures.
In 2022, police arrested nearly 15,000 people and confiscated nearly 14.5 tonnes of drugs, up from over 4.5 tonnes in 2021.
Authorities arrested 19,940 drug-related suspects in 2023, up nearly 35 percent from 2022, seizing over 2.97 tonnes of all kinds of illicit drugs.
