Cambodia arrests 8,864 suspects, seizing 259 kg of drugs in 5 months
Cambodian officials prepare drugs during a destruction ceremony to mark the UN's "International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking" in Phnom Penh on June 26, 2019. (Photo: AFP)
- Cambodianess
- June 2, 2020 2:35 AM
PHNOM PENH-- The number of people arrested in Cambodia for allegedly involving in illicit drugs rose by 28 percent in the first five months of 2020, according to the Interior Ministry's anti-drug department report released on Monday.
The authorities had caught 8,864 drug-related suspects in 4,490 cases during the January-May period this year, up 28 percent and 37 percent, respectively compared to the same period last year, the report said.
About 5,260 suspects were involved in drug trafficking and 3,604 were related to drug use, it said, adding that 114 of them are foreigners in seven nationalities.
"A total of 259.5 kilograms of illicit drugs and 225 kilograms of dry marijuana as well as 180,490 marijuana plants had been confiscated from those suspects," the report said, adding that 16 rifles, four pistols, 29 cars and 882 motorcycles had also been seized.
The Southeast Asian nation has no death sentence for drug traffickers. Under its law, someone found guilty of trafficking more than 80 grams of illicit drugs could be jailed for life.
