Narcotics officials on Tuesday burned more than 3.6 tons of marijuana seized from six alleged drug traffickers in Cambodian waters near Koh Kong in June.
The alleged smugglers—two Americans and four Thais, including a Thai naval officer—are being held in T-3 prison.
Chhin Chiva, municipal court prosecutor, said the investigation is continuing but that authorities hope to try the men soon.
Heng Peo, Cambodia’s deputy anti-drug chief, concurred as his agents prepared to light the bonfire Tuesday. “We want them to be sentenced as quickly as possible,” he told reporters. “We don’t want to prolong this procedure.”
The marijuana, which would fetch only about $10 per kg in Cambodia, had an estimated US street value of $21.7 million, Heng Peo said. It had been “professionally packed” in plastic bags with an anti-fungus agent to ensure it stayed fresh, he said.
He claimed the smugglers had planned to dump the marijuana into the water where Thai fishermen would pick up the floating bags and bring them to shore in small batches to avoid suspicion.
Heng Peo said the boat with the marijuana also may have contained illegally cut timber.
The same group of alleged drug traffickers also were believed to be involved in a 1.5-ton shipment of marijuana seized by the US Drug Enforcement Administration near Washington earlier this year, he said.
The Americans have been identified by police as Michael Smith, 40, and Joe Hardy, 46, both of New York. One of them has reportedly offered to pay $5 million for his freedom, Heng Peo said.
Authorities identified the Thai officer as Colonel Shinawat Prometa, who Thai officials have said was posted to the Institute of Advanced Naval Studies in Bangkok.
The June 28 arrest was conducted in cooperation with the DEA, which has a large regional office in Bangkok, where the two American suspects had been living temporarily for some time.
Cambodian authorities said after the arrest they believed this was the first time US nationals had been arrested in Cambodian waters on drug charges.
(Additional reporting by AP)
