A Vietnamese couple charged over small-scale dealing of methamphetamine in Bavet City casinos was sent to Svay Rieng Provincial Prison on Friday, police said, just a day after Interior Minister Sar Kheng implored authorities to target ringleaders rather than their underlings.
Bavet City police chief Kao Horn said that Yiv Bavhong and his wife Lu Thiha, both 34, were arrested at about 9 p.m. Wednesday after undercover officers received a tip-off. He said the pair confessed to their crimes.
“During questioning with…a Vietnamese [interpreter] who can speak Khmer, they said that they had planned to sell the drugs at casinos,” Mr. Horn said.
“It was very difficult to get an answer from them because the interpretation was not so clear and they were resistant to our questions,” he added.
Kan Ken, provincial anti-drug police chief, said that the couple was sent to the provincial prison Friday evening to await trial after being found in possession of 3.3 grams of the drug.
In a speech to close the annual meeting of the National Authority to Combat Drugs on Thursday, Mr. Kheng said that a pattern of arresting only low-level traffickers was “a problem.”
