Police arrested a well-known methamphetamine dealer in Phnom Penh on Tuesday night following a car chase that ended when the officers shot out the suspect’s tires, an official said on Wednesday.
Sum Chanvesna, 32, had been under surveillance by the Interior Ministry’s anti-drug department and was apprehended by its officers after leading them on a brief chase through the city, according to deputy department director In Song.
Mr. Song said the chase—involving Mr. Chanvesna’s Lexus, a police car and several police motorbikes—came to a dramatic close when the suspect came up against a roadblock the officers had set up in Chamkar Mon district and rammed one of motorbikes off the road, prompting the police to shoot out his tires.
After stopping the Lexus and arresting Mr. Chanvesna, police found just 16 grams of meth in the car, and nothing illegal in two of his rented apartments, the deputy director said.
“His accomplices moved the evidence out.” he said.
“The suspect is a leading drug dealer and was very active in the city, but we cracked down and found very little of the drug.”
Mr. Song said that police interrogated the suspect at the anti-drug department on Wednesday and would continue questioning him today.
