A judge in Cambodia has sentenced 10 Chinese citizens to life in prison in a drug trafficking and money laundering case that involved 14 tons of chemical compounds and drugs, a Sihanoukville Provincial Court statement said.
The defendants were also fined 100 million riel (about US$25,000) on Thursday by the court in Sihanoukville, a seaside town that has become a hotbed of criminal activity over the last decade.
The sentencing stemmed from a series of drug raids in July 2022 in which Chinese were arrested and accused of setting up a factory to produce methamphetamine and other drugs from smuggled ingredients.
More raids were carried out later that month by Cambodia’s National Authority for Combating Drugs and local authorities in three provinces and Phnom Penh.
NGOs at the time called on government authorities to enact tougher measures against Chinese drug lords operating in Cambodia following a surge in methamphetamine use and production across the country.
“This is a tragedy for Cambodia to be used by Chinese to produce illegal drugs,” Yong Kim Eng, president of the People Center for Development and Peace, told Radio Free Asia in 2022.
Numerous Chinese-run casinos and online scam centers have been established over the last decade in Sihanoukville, once a quiet tourist destination on the Gulf of Thailand.
In recent years, law enforcement authorities in Cambodia and China have expanded their cooperation to address an increase in online scams being run out of Sihanoukville.
Last April, Cambodia deported 130 Chinese nationals suspected of fraud-related activities and illegal online gambling at several sites in Sihanoukville.
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But Cambodia still hasn’t done enough to crack down on drug crimes, according to Seng Vanly, a Southeast Asia and the Pacific geopolitics observer.
Thursday’s sentencing only included smaller drug traffickers; authorities wouldn’t dare investigate the real drug lords, he said.
“The government hasn’t implemented the law effectively due to corruption, especially the collusion of powerful people in the government who are involved in illegal drug trafficking,” Sen Vanly said.
Law enforcement’s involvement with criminal groups in Cambodia’s drug trade continues to be a major issue, social and political affairs scholar Por Makara said.
“Corruption has caused widespread illegal drug distribution,” he said. “The law must be implemented against any officials that are giving means for foreigners to commit crimes.”
RFA was unable to reach Sihanoukville Provincial Court spokesman Thuch Pancha Santepheap for comment on the case.
Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed.