Cambodian authorities have arrested 263 suspects, including 17 women, during a major operation targeting a suspected online scam ring based in Preah Sihanouk province.
The large-scale raid took place on November 9 at the former Galaxy World Casino in Sihanoukville town.
“The suspects include 207 Chinese nationals (7 women), 11 Pakistanis, 23 Bangladeshis, 6 women from Myanmar, 4 Nepalese, 7 Vietnamese (3 women), 4 Malaysians and 1 Laotian woman,” according to a press released by the authorities.
During the operation, police seized 860 desktop computers, 4,129 mobile phones, 16 laptops and 14 tablets, all of them believed to have been used for online scam activities.
The coordinated crackdown was conducted under the direction of the Secretariat of the Commission for Combating Cybercrime (CCCC), with cooperation from the National Police, the General Department of Immigration, the Unified Command of Preah Sihanouk Province and other relevant agencies.
The operation was carried out under the procedural supervision of deputy prosecutor Chhiv Ikkong of the Preah Sihanouk Provincial Court.
“Deputy prosecutor Ikkong inspected the site during the raid, while authorities apprehended the suspects allegedly involved in the cyber scam operation,” it said.
Police said that the location has been temporarily closed and handed over to the Police of Sihanoukville’s district 4 for management, pending further legal procedures.
The suspects and the confiscated evidence have been transferred to the General Department of Immigration and other relevant authorities.
Authorities confirmed that the crackdown was part of an ongoing national campaign to dismantle technology-based scams and bring those responsible to justice.
“Within the framework of the campaign to clean up technology-based scam operations, various authorities across the country will take the strictest legal action against all the masterminds involved — without exception,” said the statement.
