A father and son who had allegedly been running a drug-dealing operation in Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district were arrested on Saturday at their home in Svay Pak commune’s Lu village while they were “preparing to distribute the drugs”.

District police chief Tiang Chansa said yesterday that an extensive investigation had been conducted to identify the suspects prior to their arrest at home, where a raid turned up 56 packages of “white crystalline powdered drugs”, five swords and assorted drug paraphernalia.

According to Svay Pak commune police chief Him Kimsan, the suspects – Nguyen Havyung, 52, and his son, Nguyen Havhom, 23 – run a laundry shop. “A few months ago, [Havyung’s] son-in-law was arrested for drug distribution as well,” he said.

Following the arrest, the men were detained at the district police station for questioning on possible accomplices.

“I am carrying out the interrogation procedure to find the people involved before sending them to court,” district police chief Chansa said.

According to the National Police, 14 drug busts were made across the country on Friday alone. The busts saw 28 arrested, though only 5.9 grams of drugs were seized.