Police chief calls for proactiveness on drugs
FOL LOW ING a n order by Minister of Interior Sar Kheng to ma ke g reater ef for t s to sta mp out dr ug use i n t he K i ngdom, Nat iona l Pol ic e chief Neth Savoeun instructed local authorities on Thursday to root out drug offenders a nd not wa it for nat iona l level instr uctions.
S avoeu n wa s le a d i ng a meet i ng at t he Minist r y of Interior attended by National a nd Milita r y Pol ice of f icers f r om a c r os s t he c ou nt r y which a i med to help t hem learn from the recent spate of drugs busts at severa l major entertainment venues.
National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) secretar y-general Meas Vyrith said t hat fol low i ng t he meeting, nat iona l le v el aut hor it ie s would delegate a ll aut horit y to t he sub-nat iona l level to search for and identif y drug dea lers wit hout wait i ng for instructions from t he senior leadership, as had prev iously been the case.
He sa id in t he past, some loca l aut horities were relucta nt to ta ke cont rol of a nt id r ug en forcement because t hey sa id t hey had i nsuf f icient manpower.
“I want to emphasise that some local authorities say they are waiting for guidance from senior leadership. But now the senior leadership will transfer all authority to sub-national level authorities to detect and investigate offences.
“Up to now, when t he y found a place where offences were being committed, they said they didn’t have enough forces to ca r r y out a crackdown and asked for inter vent ion,” Vyrit h said.
Sa r Kheng ex pressed concern in March over the capita l’s drug problem spreading t o t he c ou nt r y s i de a nd ordered aut hor it ies to ta ke toug her act ion aga i nst t he owners of entertainment venues such as clubs, hotels and g uest houses, especia l ly i n border areas.
A recent report said t hat in t he f irst f ive months of t his y e a r, aut hor it ie s ha nd le d 3,335 drugs cases, detaining 7,0 97 de a l e r s a nd u s e r s , including 12 ringleaders and 53 key players.
Dur i ng t he bust s, pol ic e
c o n f i s c a t e d 31, 0 9 8 k g o f drugs, 47,103 cannabis plants a n d o t h e r d r u g - r e l a t e d equipment.
At Thursday’s meeting, recent crackdowns at several entertainment clubs were highlighted. Three raids had been conducted on major nightclubs in Phnom Penh this year and, most recently, one in Poipet.
Nine people were detained on June 13 in a raid on Poipet city’s AJR Club, where the authorities seized 112 small packets of methamphetamine and 349 pills.
On June 8, police raided the Luxurious nightclub in Phnom Penh, confiscating 162.7g of drugs and detaining 408 people. The authorities sent 17 of the suspects to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.
Another bust was conducted at Phnom Penh’s Miami Night Club on April 11. Some 50 people were detained and police seized more than 10kg of drugs. The owner of the club, Sren Vireak, and six employees were sent to court for drug crimes.
The capita l’s Rock Entertainment Centre was raided on Febr ua r y 23, wit h more than 300 people detained and some 50kg of i l lega l d r ugs seized.
Following the bust, the club’s owner, tycoon Kith Theang, was detained at the capital’s Police Judicia re prison.
Meanwhile, a civil society official said that the raids had not yet achieved their goals, as powerful ringleaders continue to import and distr ibute drugs.
“But we hope that the new strategy will improve the situation and help the authorities reach their targets, especially by clamping down on the ringleaders,” spokesperson for human rights group Adhoc Soeung Sen Karuna said.