By:
• Teng Yalirozy

• 31, July 2024 , 5:20 PM

PHNOM PENH – Alarm is growing at the increase in drug seizures and the growing presence of crystal methamphetamine or ICE. 

Anti-drug police have been urged to make a clean sweep of places with high drug use amid fears that users are at greater risk of harm. 

“The drug situation in Cambodia has significantly and alarmingly changed with the amount of drugs that the authorities crack down on every year,” Interior Minister Sar Sokha said on July 30 during the ceremony of the Inspection of the Anti-Drug Work of the Ministry of Interior.

“The large-scale processing was also cracked down on. Most of the drugs that are processed, manufactured and used are ICE. The increase in ICE poses a greater risk to users,” he said.

Cambodia experienced a significant rise in arrests and drug seizures in the first six months of 2024, an Anti-Drug Department report says.

Authorities detained 11,780 drug suspects, up 30 percent from 9,034 in 2021, with over 300 being foreigners. Five tonnes of illicit drugs were confiscated, compared to one tonne 99kg in the first half of 2023.

The seized drugs included heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, methamphetamine pills, cathinone and ketamine.

Sar Sokha said the government and stakeholders have committed to combatting drug trafficking and issued regulations, guidelines, and plans including a National Plan, Safe Village, Sangkat Policy and a draft policy.

He also ordered inspections at the youth-popular locations such as shopping malls and nightclubs, KTVs and cinemas while regularly raising awareness of the negative effects of drug use.

Cambodia is the world's second-largest source of heroin, as well as a major hub for the production and trade of amphetamine-type stimulants. 

The country has evolved into a major transit route for drug trafficking. The use of illegal drugs, particularly amphetamine-type stimulants, has increased dramatically, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.