A joint operation by national and military police officials saw the arrest of a group of 70 youth troublemakers in Stung Treng town, in Stung Treng province, on Sunday night for illegally modifying their 40 motorbikes.

Stung Treng town governor Say Kosal said on Tuesday that some of the youths, who are from outside the town, modified their motorbikes in contravention of traffic laws and affected public order.

He said they installed LED and laser lights to their bikes in addition to modifying their exhaust pipes to produce a louder noise.

The motorbikes, Kosal said, also failed to display number plates, and the youths normally rode into town between 9pm and 3am, disrupting the people’s peace, he said.

“They modified their bikes by adding LED and lasers and changed the exhaust pipes. We used about 10 police officials to crack down on them because they also had swords,” he said, adding that their urine was tested and seven were confirmed to be drug users.

Traffic police checked the documents related to the 40 motorbikes and found that only eight had legal documents and were returned to their parents. Police have impounded the rest of the bikes for lack of legal documents.

“It’s difficult for us to investigate when undocumented motorbikes are used to commit crimes,” Kosal said.

Sim Kuon, a military policeman in Stung Treng town, said they educated and shaved the hair of the youths as a warning. Their parents were also called in and made to sign contracts along with their children, promising not to repeat the mistake. They were then allowed to return home over Monday and Tuesday.

“They had their hair shaved and their parents came to guarantee their good behaviour. By Tuesday, they were all allowed to return home with their parents after we educated them,” he said.