Cambodian authorities have apprehended two drug traffickers who entered the country on 30 March, following a tip-off.
The culprits, identified as Sok Taing, a 36-year-old Vietnamese national, and Pav Vieng, a 36-year-old Lao national, were arrested in a parking lot of a shopping mall in Chak Angre commune in the capital’s Meanchey district.
Taing, who was driving a Toyota Crossover, was detained by the police on the spot, while Vieng was arrested the following day. During the investigation, Vieng revealed that he was the right-hand man of a well-known drug dealer in Laos, according to Mark Chito, the deputy National Police chief in charge of the Anti-Drug Department.
The pair had brought 40 kilograms of methamphetamine into Cambodia to establish a local network with the help of local dealers, the Phnom Penh Post reports.
However, their plan was thwarted by the police who are continuing their investigations to identify other accomplices involved in the trafficking, added Chito.
The offenders have been put in pre-trial detention in Prey Sar prison, facing charges of storing, transporting, and dealing drugs under Article 48 of the law on drug control.
There has been a rise in cases of Lao nationals crossing into Cambodia to establish drug networks with local dealers. For instance, in a similar incident, two Lao nationals were arrested for smuggling methamphetamine pills across the Laos-Cambodia border to Stung Treng province.
The Cambodian police are actively working to combat drug trafficking and have urged citizens to report any suspicious activity to the authorities.
