A Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) officer and two other men were arrested Friday in a drug sting in Stung Treng province and confessed to trafficking more than 1 kg of crystal methamphetamine from Laos, according to local police.
Sib Savoeun, 52, an RCAF officer within the province’s Military Region 1; Liv Fen, 63, a restaurant manager; and Chev Sin An, 59, a vendor, were arrested after police raided Mr. Sin An’s home in Srah Russei commune in Stung Treng City at about 10 a.m. and found about 1.2 kg of crystal methamphetamine, said provincial police chief Oum Viroth.
They then were transported to the provincial police station, where the three confessed to the crime, the provincial police chief said.
“This is a real crime, and at our office they admitted the drugs really belonged to them and that they kept them for sale,” Mr. Viroth said.
“They brought the drugs from Laos, and they have tried to find buyers in Cambodia. Our undercover officers pretended to be buyers and made an appointment with them at the house.”
Mr. Viroth said Friday’s arrests were the culmination of a three-week investigation into the trio.
“We cooperated with local authorities, the people and other stakeholders to prepare and arrest the suspects without letting them know,” Mr. Viroth said.
“When we arrived at the house, we had requested to check their bodies and then we found drugs in the hands of suspects Savoeun and Fen, and the three suspects were keeping drugs for trade,” he added.
A report posted on the National Police website about the incident confirmed that police found about 1.2 kg of crystal methamphetamine, and said that a search of the house and its premises also turned up $200 cash, two mobile phones and a Toyota vehicle.
