The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Sunday placed three suspects in pre-trial detention after they were charged with trafficking drugs.

Court spokesman Kuch Kimlong identified the three as Conth Abdul from Sierra Leone, Ogan Dimma Lgwe Linus from Nigeria and Cambodian Hean Lis.

Authorities worked in collaboration with a shipping company to confiscate 993.42g of methamphetamine the three had hidden in a book last Wednesday, after which they were arrested.

In a separate case, two suspects were also charged with trafficking drugs and sent to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday.

Chorn Makara, 31 and Tem Chimi, 26, were charged with trafficking drugs after authorities confiscated 10 packages of methamphetamine weighing about 1kg, a scale and four phones last Tuesday. They were arrested in Kan Tok commune, in the capital’s Kambol district.

“The three suspects were charged and detained by the court already, while in another case involving two other suspects, the judge is questioning them following law procedure,” said the municipal court spokesman.

The operation was carried out on orders from National Police chief Neth Savoeun and his deputy Mok Chito.