More than seven and a half tonnes of seafood have been destroyed after being found to contain prohibited chemical substances. police
More than seven and a half tonnes of seafood, including shrimp and fish fins, were seized and destroyed by the National Police in cooperation with Camcontrol on Wednesday after they were found to contain prohibited chemical substances.
Um Mony, the deputy director of the Anti-Economic Crimes Police Department at the National Police, told The Post on Thursday that the seafood was imported from Vietnam without authorisation, and was being transported in order to be distributed in Cambodian markets, particularly Phnom Penh.
“The three trucks were stopped by our authorities and detained at kilometre marker 15 along National Road 3. With participation from Camcontrol officers, we found a chemical substance, which is thick like jam, in the shrimp heads and the seafood,” Mony said.
He continued that with authorisation from Kham Sophary, Phnom Penh Municipal Court deputy prosecutor, authorities confiscated the seafood and ordered it to be destroyed at Boeung Choeung Ek landfill.
Mony said during the operation authorities arrested three drivers and questioned them at the department to ascertain the seafood’s owner.
“The drivers were released on Thursday morning after they told us the identity and whereabouts of the seafood’s owner."
“They also agreed to thumbprint a contract stipulating that they will appear to testify before authorities and the court at every step of the legal process,” he said.
Mony did not reveal the identity of the drivers or the owner of the seafood as the case is still under investigation. He also appealed to all consumers to be careful where they bought their seafood.
There has been a crackdown on counterfeit and contaminated goods by authorities in the Kingdom in recent months.
On Tuesday, more than 70 tonnes of counterfeit goods – including medicine, makeup, water and food – were destroyed by the Ministry of Interior in a ceremony attended by Minister of Interior Sar Kheng in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district.
“Let me order the Counter-Counterfeit Committee that next time they seize products, they must arrest the owners too,” Sar Kheng told the officers in attendance.
