The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday charged a pawnbroker with running an illegal business and conspiring with thieves after police raided his shop in Pur Senchey district over the weekend and confiscated more than 100 motorbikes, many of them stolen, according to Dangkao district police chief Chim Sitha.
“The case of the illegal pawnshop owner is out of my hands; only the court is continuing with his case,” said Mr. Sitha, whose officers cooperated with Pur Senchey police to arrest Meng Sei, 44, at his shop along National Road 3 on Saturday.
After apprehending Mr. Sei, police trucked the 103 seized motorbikes to the Dangkao police station so that their rightful owners could come and claim them.
Mr. Sitha said Tuesday that people were continuing to show up at the police station with their vehicle registration cards in the hopes of being reunited with their stolen motorbikes, or those they had once pawned to Mr. Sei.
He said his officers had so far returned almost 20 vehicles to their owners.
