Cambodia arrests 4,823 drug-related suspects in 2 months of anti-drug campaign

Cambodian authorities have arrested 4,823 drug-related suspects in 2,065 cases in the first two months of a six-month anti-drug campaign that was launched on Jan. 1, according to an Interior Ministry report released on Friday. (Photo: Keith Allison/Flickr)

PHNOM PENH—Cambodian authorities have arrested 4,823 drug-related suspects in 2,065 cases in the first two months of a six-month anti-drug campaign that was launched on Jan. 1, according to an Interior Ministry report released on Friday.

The report said 2,357 were arrested for trafficking illicit drugs, and 2,466 were caught for using drugs.

The number of the drug arrests in the first two months (January and February) was nearly half of the total number of people arrested for drug-related offenses in 2016.

In the entirety of last year, police arrested some 9,800 suspects in illicit drug cases.

In a public speech last month, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen vowed to intensify the government’s efforts in combating illicit drugs and called for the people to help with the six-month anti-drug campaign.

He also appealed to parents and legal guardians to advise their children to stay away from drugs.

The prime minister said although some countries allow the police to kill drug criminals during their operations, Cambodia does not allow killings.