P Sihanouk police seize nearly 900kg ketamine
PREAH Sihanouk provincial Military Police are searching for the people behind a shipment of nearly 900kg of ketamine that was discovered in a rented property in village 2 of Sihanoukville’s commune 1.
Provincial Military Police anti-drug office director Long Kim Hour told The Post on December 12 that investigations were ongoing.
“We are exploring all possible leads and cultivating any intelligence sources that we can gather,” he said.
According to Kim Hour, the operation was carried out on the orders of National Military Police commander General Sao Sokha. It was led by provincial gendarmerie commander Heng Bunty, in collaboration with provincial governor Kuoch Chamroeun.
The crime scene fell under the jurisdiction of Chan Darith, deputy prosecutor of the provincial court.
Kim Hour said that officers were unable to locate anyone within the compound, but discovered 34 large packages of ketamine weighing a total of 884kg.
Authorities have so far been unable to identify the owner or leaseholder of the building.
Commune chief Chhit Sophat told The Post that he knew about the raid, but did not join the operation as the commune police forces had passed authority over to the provincial Military Police.
He said that a large concrete warehouse had been constructed on the site, and he believed it had been rented to a Chinese man.
“There was a small home, but it has been expanded into a warehouse,” he added.
Meas Vyrith, secretary general of the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) of the Ministry of Interior, told The Post that he was aware that provincial forces had seized a large quantity of ketamine, but he was unsure if the drugs were imported or manufactured in the Kingdom. He understood that further research was being conducted.
“This is a significant bust. There have been similar cases in the past where criminal gangs have tried to use Cambodia as a transit destination for trafficking. What we need to do is establish the precise source of these drugs,” he said.