Officials Granting Import Permits to Drug Producers Put on Notice by DPM Sar Kheng

Interior Minister Sar Kheng on Jan. 25 warned officials who permit imports of chemical substances which could be used to produce drugs would face criminal charges. Photo from DPM Sar Kheng's Facebook

Chemicals used in the production of illegal drugs have been legally imported into Cambodia, Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng said, and warned that those issues import permits could be punished



PHMOM PENH--Interior Minister Sar Kheng on Jan. 25 warned officials who permit imports of chemical substances which could be used to produce drugs would face criminal charges.



At a police vehicle handover ceremony in Phnom Penh, Kheng—who also serves as one of Cambodia’s deputy prime ministers—stressed that the drugs are no longer just being smuggled into Cambodia, but chemical compounds needed to produce drugs domestically are being imported legally.



He went on to criticize ministers who are in charge of providing permits to private companies for chemical substance imports without specifically mentioning names.



“So, who is responsible for these kinds of imports? This is just like stolen cars; you can’t import the whole vehicles but you can do it by importing parts of the vehicles,” Kheng said.   



“I request the relevant ministries, as I don’t need to mention the name, to check on this. Please, if you don’t [do it], you are responsible for destroying not only public health but also the social and economic wellbeing of the whole country.”  



Meanwhile, he acknowledged that substance abuse and drugs trafficking charges account for some 54.5 percent of Cambodia’s prison population.



“This percentage implies that drugs have been severely penetrating our society and we need to find the causes of it,” Kheng said, adding that more than 100 tons of drugs had been seized by authorities in recent months.



However, whether Kheng’s remarks will end the legal import of chemicals used in illegal substance production in Cambodia remains to be seen, but Yong Kim Eng, president of the People Center for Development and Peace, agreed with Kheng on the idea that such imports could not happen without the approval of authorities.



“It is very regrettable as these permits are granted by ministers. This should not have happened as we already have many experts and the state budget has paid for them to perform their work,” Kim Eng said.



“However, I support Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng for raising this up and ordering a check into this issue. Responsible ministers should explain publicly how this kind of problem happens,” he added.



Lack of Cooperation Between Authorities



In the same statement, Kheng also criticized the lack of cooperation between ministries issuing import licenses and the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD).



“Why don’t you communicate and provide each other with information? Our country is a unitary state, not a federal state. Even in a federal state, there is still cooperation between authorities,” Kheng said.    



Kheng then ordered the NACD to provide a list of substances that can be used to produce drugs and share it among the relevant ministries and to collaborate with them to ensure rules are followed.



“And for the relevant ministries, if you grant those companies permits to import, please let other ministries know and find out what they are going to do with those substances,” Kheng continued.



Kim Eng concurred that to address the ongoing drug issue in Cambodia, cooperation between competent authorities is needed to strictly control imports of substances.  



“If there is a close and proper cooperation among our competent authorities, especially those institutions responsible for granting import licenses to do their works, I don’t think this issue can take place,” he explained.



 He continued that while persistently carrying out crackdowns on illicit drugs, the government must also continue capacity building so that it can produce more experts who can efficiently undertake work related to inspecting and analyzing all imported chemical substances.


Related Articles