Five men were arrested and detained by Preah Vihear provincial police in the province’s Sra Em Khang Choeung village, in Sra Em commune, on Tuesday for kidnapping two Thai tourists, deputy National Police chief Chhay Sinarith said on Wednesday.

The five suspects were named as Khon Sophal; Thun Bun Thoeun, 21; Theng Pet, 25; Khon Filib, 19; and Mao Veasna, 15.

“We will send them to court. I have not received a detailed report yet because officials are still working on this case. I don’t have the details, so I can’t tell you any more at the moment,” Sinarith said.

Provincial police chief Yin Chamnan told The Post that the crime occurred when two Thai women travelled from Bangkok to Siem Reap International Airport on Sunday.

After landing, the victims took a tuk-tuk from the airport but were soon forcefully transferred into a car that took them to Preah Vihear province’s Choam Ksan district.

The two victims were forced to call their families in Thailand to send money to secure their release. The victim’s families informed the Thai Embassy in Cambodia, who informed the National Police.

He said the operation involved 40 provincial police officials working in conjunction with the National Police. The police detained five suspects, confiscated an AK-47 rifle with 30 bullets and 3kg of an unspecified drug.

“After police arrested the suspects, they were transferred to the National Police on December 25,” Chamnan said.

The two women were rescued unharmed and repatriated to Thailand.