National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) secretary-general Meas Vyrith met with a Chinese delegation led by Li Xiang Ming, police liaison adviser with the Chinese embassy, on June 8 for discussions about increasing cooperation in the fight against illegal drugs.

A June 9 statement by the NACD said the meeting aimed to foster bilateral cooperation to combat drug offences and introduced several drug enforcement officers who have been assigned by the Chinese government to monitor, investigate and crack down on drug crimes involving Chinese nationals in Cambodia.

Vyrith welcomed the delegation and expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the close cooperation between Cambodia and China.

He said that the fight against drugs will be strengthened and enhanced through the Cambodian-Chinese bilateral frameworks. Cambodia receives technical support, materials and training from China on a regular basis.

“Through this close cooperation, especially the posting of Chinese officers to Cambodia in recent years, we have received excellent results in suppressing cross-border drug dealing, and have arrested several Chinese criminals who have attempted to use the Kingdom as a base for the manufacture of illegal drugs,” he added.

Li noted the good results that the close cooperation of the two nations had attained. He said that the timely exchange of information on the trafficking and smuggling of illegal drugs in particular had resulted in the disruption of drug networks that were involved in criminal activities in both China and Cambodia.

He reiterated that China will continue to maintain its cooperation and support Cambodia in terms of technology, equipment and funds, especially when it came to building the capacity of the Kingdom’s drug enforcement officers.