Police arrested nine robbery suspects, including the 22-year-old son of Prince Norodom Chakrapong, in Phnom Penh’s Prampi Makara district late Monday afternoon, police said.
Speaking at a rented home where the arrests were made, Pat Samnath, police chief for Boeng Prolit commune, said that Norodom Charachak, nicknamed Dy Dy, was among nine suspects between the ages of 17 to 22 who were arrested during a police raid.
Police conducted the raid under a warrant from the Phnom Penh Municipal Court following three months of robberies allegedly committed by the suspects, he added.
“All the suspected robbers frequently escaped from police to hide in this rented house on Street 115,” Pat Samnath said. He added that the suspects were due to be sent to the Prampi Makara district police station.
Norodom Charachak currently works in the Interior Ministry’s bodyguard department, Pat Samnath said. Interior Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak said he could not confirm whether this was correct.
Shortly after the raid, some 30 police and military police officials at the scene let reporters view a samurai-style sword and four identical broad bladed swords that were confiscated in the raid.
The suspects—including one female—cowered in silence in the corner of the sparse, two-story residence while police put the weaponry on display. Police did not allow reporters to speak to the suspects.
Prince Chakrapong, who is acting president of the Norodom Ranariddh Party, could not be reached for comment. NRP spokesman Muth Channtha declined to comment, saying the arrest was a personal issue.
Prince Sisowath Thomico, second deputy president of the NRP, said he was not aware of Norodom Charachak’s arrest, but added that it was probably not politically motivated.
“Dy Dy has never joined any political party,” Prince Thomico said, though he added: “He likes making friends with the children of high-ranking CPP officials.”
