Investigative Judge of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court Key Manera issued a warrant for the detention of a group of 13 suspects in Prey Sar Prison.

The warrant – for the groups involvement with a high-profile case in which a convicted heroin smuggler escaped custody while undergoing a dental visit – was issued on the night of August 29, said an August 30 statement by National Police.

The statement explained that the 13 have been charged with a wide-range of serious offences, which necessitates their temporary imprisonment.

The charges include illegal escape with aggravating circumstances (the use of illegal weapons), organising an armed group to initiate acts of illegally detention or confinement with aggravating circumstances, the illegal possession, transportation and abandonment of weapons in public places, and money laundering, along with assorted conspiracy and drug charges.

On the morning of August 17, six men armed with firearms stormed the Chum Chenda Dental Clinic in Siem Reap town’s Svay Dangkum commune and freed Chen Hsin Han, 45, who was serving a 52-year sentence for trafficking. The prisoner had complained of a toothache and been granted a request to obtain dental treatment.

The perpetrators, dressed in black and wearing masks, held the prisoner’s escorts at gunpoint and handcuffed them before making their escape in a waiting car. The getaway vehicle, with the masks and weapons used in the escape, was discovered around one kilometre from the clinic.

The capture of 11 of the suspects, including the escaped convict, was announced on August 23 by Mak Chito, deputy National Police chief in charge of combating drug, and Kheng Sarath, director of the Anti-Drug Department. An additional two suspects have since been taken into custody in Siem Reap province.