The Phnom Penh Municipal Court has placed four Taiwanese suspects in pre-trial detention after they were arrested for possessing nearly three tonnes of drug ingredients worth about $10 million in Preah Sihanouk province and Phnom Penh.

Court spokesman Kuch Kimlong said on Thursday the four were charged with “transporting, trafficking, processing and storing drugs illegally” under articles 40 and 48 of the Law on Drug Control.

Loek Vannak, director of the National Police’s anti-drug department, said on Thursday that police seized over two tonnes of drugs and 600kg of chemicals worth $10 million at three locations in Preah Sihanouk and four targets in Phnom Penh on October 7.

He said specialists cooperated with police from Preah Vihear province, Phnom Penh and Preah Sihanouk province to crack down on cross-border drug trafficking from Laos to Taiwan via Cambodia. The intelligence department and prosecutors from Phnom Penh, Preah Vihear and Preah Sihanouk were also involved in the operation.

“For this case, our anti-drug department is continuing to search for their accomplices and cooperating with police from relevant countries to search for and crack down on more ringleaders,” Vannak said.

The four suspects were identified as Chen Chin Chien, aka Jacky; Zhan Qi Zhi; Yu Yao Tsung; and Chen Pao Jiun. Jacky is the alleged ringleader while the others served as transporters. Another suspect named Wu Chi Hsun allegedly handled the drugs.

Wu died in an attempt to escape from authorities.

An anti-drug department report said the seized evidence included 76 sacks of methcathinone weighing 1,900kg, 62.3g of methamphetamine, and several more kilogrammes of drugs, drug-producing equipment and 24 sacks of methyl glycidate weighing 600kg.