Cambodia arrests 14,038 drug-related suspects in 8 months

Officials set fire on illicit drugs during a ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on June 26, 2020. Cambodia on Friday burned down 477.7 kg of illicit drugs to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, officials said. (Photo: Xinhua)
  • Xinhua
  • September 2, 2020 8:40 AM

PHNOM PENH-- Cambodian authorities have arrested 14,038 drug-related suspects in 7,025 cases in the first eight months of this year, said an Interior Ministry's anti-drug department report on Tuesday.



From January to August 2020, some 8,485 people were nabbed for alleged drug trafficking and 5,553 were caught for drug use, the report said, adding that 201 of them are foreigners.



"A total of 687.6 kg of illicit drugs, 287 kg of dry marijuana, and 191,292 marijuana plants were seized from those suspects," the report said.



The authorities have also confiscated 17 rifles, 17 pistols, 87 cars, 17,777 motorbikes, 5,068 telephones and 324 scales from them, it added.



In 2019, the Southeast Asian country arrested 20,113 drug suspects, including 401 foreigners, seizing about 720 kg of illicit drugs.



Cambodia has no death sentence for drug traffickers. Under its law, anyone found guilty of trafficking more than 80 grams of illicit drug could be jailed for life.


Related Articles