Poipet municipal authorities have decided to shut down a fishing site in Poipet town after it was found to have been used as a location to deal and use drugs. More than 140 people tested for illegal substances there on Tuesday.

The suspects were sent to Banteay Meanchey Provincial Police headquarters for questioning on June 18.

Poipet town police chief Thin Sindeth told The Post on Wednesday that the authorities raided the site and found 140 drug users.

He said they would be sent to a rehabilitation centre for treatment after questioning was completed, while a drug dealer and four of his employees would be sent to the court.

“After we conducted the tests, we only allowed about half a dozen people to return home because they were not drug addicts, while those who were taken in for questioning at the headquarters are already addicts,” Sindeth said.

The area around the fishing site has long been inhabited by homeless people living in an anarchic manner alongside the railway tracks, he said.

Until recently, there was a large-scale distribution of drugs in the area, Sindeth said, until the authorities took action to “unrelentingly” clamp down on the illegal activities and rearrange the site.

Subsequently, the authorities became aware that the drug dealers had stopped selling openly and moved into the fishing site.

On Tuesday, the authorities launched a crackdown, in collaboration with the provincial court prosecutor, seizing five packets of methamphetamine, 54 pills and one ecstasy tablet, he said.

“The addicts who were brought in for questioning confessed that they have been buying drugs from the fishing site for a long time,” Sindeth said.

He said the authorities have so far been unable to locate the owner of the site, but an investigation is still ongoing.

Poipet town governor Keat Hul said the site is located next to Lucky Casino but was unsure if it was involved with the casino.

Provincial police chief Ath Khem could not be reached by for comment on Wednesday.

Sum Chankea, the provincial coordinator for rights groups Adhoc, said that even though more than a hundred drug users were arrested, drug use would not be eradicated until the dealers and ringleaders were brought to justice.

“They have made these arrests but it’s not going to solve the problem. The producers are still out there and there are still numerous other users,” Chankea said.