Major General Dom Hak has been charged as an “accomplice” in the drug-trafficking ring that police have been unraveling over the past two weeks, Deputy Municipal Prosecutor Sok Rouen said Monday.
The charge falls under a general indictment issued Oct 7 against seven other suspects in the case on charges of trafficking and producing drugs.
“I charged the seven suspects and their accomplice,” Sok Rouen said. He added that the indictment “did not specifically mention the name of Dom Hak, but he is an accomplice.”
Police do not foresee any more arrests in the case, said Brigadier General Heng Pov, the deputy chief of municipal police.
Dom Hak and another military officer, Lieutenant Colonel Muon Sokhan, were arrested Friday in a sweep that began Oct 1, when police found 35 kg of heroin concealed in a Tuol Kok district house. Mol Roeup, the head of the Ministry of Defense’s intelligence department, has said neither of the suspects was under his command. A senior RCAF official said Monday that Dom Hak worked for the military intelligence unit of RCAF infantry.
Seven other people were indicted last Tuesday. Lim Samnang, a former Ministry of Defense official, was charged with drug production and trafficking; six others—three Cambodians and three Taiwanese—were charged with trafficking.
Co-Minister of Defense Tea Banh confirmed that no more military officers have been linked to the ring.
Dom Hak remains in military police custody for further questioning, National Military Police Commander Sao Sokha said Monday. “Competent officers are questioning him,” he said.
The five Sihanoukville customs officials charged Friday in a separate heroin-smuggling investigation also remain in jail, officials said. “They are in PJ prison [in Phnom Penh] for a few days,” said Heng Pov, adding that he knew of no order for bail.
The five were arrested in connection with 24 kg of heroin that was smuggled by boat into Australia in April, concealed in a shipment of Cambodian fish paste. They include Kin Ly, Sihanoukville Port customs bureau chief, and Pen Sarath, brother of Customs Department Director Pen Siman.
(Additional reporting by Yun Samean)
