More than 100 tonnes of fake, expired and illegal products with banned chemical substances were destroyed on Thursday in Kampong Speu province on the orders of Interior Minister Sar Kheng.

Kheng said the counterfeit products, which included food and beverages, were imported, mostly from the neighbouring countries.

“The Ministry of Interior, and relevant ministries and committees, have worked closely to prevent, halt and crack down on counterfeit goods entering Cambodia,” he said.

Kheng was quoted on the National Police’s website as saying: “If we did not take action on time, the products would have been sold to the public.

“This not only wastes the national budget but also seriously affects people’s heath as the products are mixed with banned chemical substances,” he said.

Kheng urged authorities at all levels to continue their cooperation with national officials to prevent such products from entering the Kingdom.

Kampong Speu Provincial Governor Vey Somnang read a report on a raid in November on a small business in Oudong district’s Domnak Raing commune, where the products were discovered and confiscated.

The owner of the small business was allegedly Ving Huy, 38. He is said to have escaped after the crackdown. Sixteen types of food and beverages were confiscated as evidence, Somnang said.

Authorities had also sent the case to the Kampong Speu Provincial Court, which ordered the Interior Ministry’s Counter-Counterfeit Committee to destroy the products by burning and burying them, he said. “The foods can cause cancer and even death,” Somnang said.

Meach Sophana, the Interior Ministry’s undersecretary of state in charge of the Committee, said this is the third time authorities have destroyed food containing illicit substances.