A meeting held on Thursday at the Ministry of Interior about the ongoing drugs crack down at nightclubs. National Police
Following an order by Minister of Interior Sar Kheng to make greater efforts to stamp out drug use in the Kingdom, National Police chief Neth Savoeun instructed local authorities on Thursday to root out drug offenders and not wait for national level instructions.
Savoeun was leading a meeting at the Ministry of Interior attended by National and Military Police officers from across the country which aimed to help them learn from the recent spate of drugs busts at several major entertainment venues.
National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) secretary-general Meas Vyrith said that following the meeting, national level authorities would delegate all authority to the sub-national level to search for and identify drug dealers without waiting for instructions from the senior leadership, as had previously been the case.
He said in the past, some local authorities were reluctant to take control of anti-drug enforcement because they said they had insufficient manpower.
“I want to emphasise that some local authorities say they are waiting for guidance from senior leadership. But now the senior leadership will transfer all authority to sub-national level authorities to detect and investigate offences."
“Up to now, when they found a place where offences were being committed, they said they didn’t have enough forces to carry out a crackdown and asked for intervention,” Vyrith said.
Sar Kheng expressed concern in March over the capital’s drug problem spreading to the countryside and ordered authorities to take tougher action against the owners of entertainment venues such as clubs, hotels and guesthouses, especially in border areas.
A recent report said that in the first five months of this year, authorities handled 3,335 drugs cases, detaining 7,097 dealers and users, including 12 ringleaders and 53 key players.
During the busts, police confiscated 31,098kg of drugs, 47,103 cannabis plants and other drug-related equipment.
At Thursday’s meeting, recent crackdowns at several entertainment clubs were highlighted. Three raids had been conducted on major nightclubs in Phnom Penh this year and, most recently, one in Poipet.
Nine people were detained on June 13 in a raid on Poipet city’s AJR Club, where the authorities seized 112 small packets of methamphetamine and 349 pills.
On June 8, police raided the Luxurious nightclub in Phnom Penh, confiscating 162.7g of drugs and detaining 408 people. The authorities sent 17 of the suspects to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.
Another bust was conducted at Phnom Penh’s Miami Night Club on April 11. Some 50 people were detained and police seized more than 10kg of drugs. The owner of the club, Sren Vireak, and six employees were sent to court for drug crimes.
The capital’s Rock Entertainment Centre was raided on February 23, with more than 300 people detained and some 50kg of illegal drugs seized.
Following the bust, the club’s owner, tycoon Kith Theang, was detained at the capital’s Police Judiciare prison.
Meanwhile, a civil society official said that the raids had not yet achieved their goals, as powerful ringleaders continue to import and distribute drugs.
“But we hope that the new strategy will improve the situation and help the authorities reach their targets, especially by clamping down on the ringleaders,” spokesperson for human rights group Adhoc Soeung Sen Karuna said.
