The Kratie Provincial Court has charged and detained two suspects over drug trafficking while another was sent to the provincial drug rehabilitation centre after Kratie district police arrested them and seized six small packages of drugs in Kratie commune last week.

Kratie provincial court spokesmen Tiv Vuth Then and Chea Sopheak could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

Kratie provincial anti-drug bureau director Seang Sopheak said on Sunday that the first suspect was Kreng Chan Raksmey, 29, a goldsmith residing in the commune. The second suspect was Sok Y Lan, 22.

They were charged by an investigating judge and detained in the provincial prison, Sopheak said.

El Ratha, 34, an official with the provincial health department, was sent to the provincial drug rehabilitation centre, he said.

The three suspects, Sopheak said, were tracked by police for several days before being arrested at different locations.

“Ratha was ordered by the court to be taken to the drug rehabilitation centre because the court confirmed he was only using the drugs while the two others were detained and charged with drug trafficking under Article 40 of the Law on Drug Control,” he said.

Sopheak said police sent Ratha to court for it to decide on his involvement after making the arrest based on who they came across during their investigation.

Kratie district police chief Neth Lin said on Sunday that before arresting the three suspects, undercover police had been investigating them for several days.

On Wednesday, undercover police set an operation in motion to have the suspects sell them drugs, after which Y Lan and Chan Raksmey were arrested.

Ratha was arrested based on information provided by the first two suspects, Lin said.

He noted that Y Lan was previously jailed for drug trafficking, but he could not remember for how many years.