Officers outside the Rock Entertainment Centre on Sunday. Authorities shut it down after a raid.
Some 10 people accused of bringing drugs and an illegal weapon into the Rock Entertainment Centre after the club was raided over the weekend are to be sent Phnom Penh Municipal Court, the chief of the capital’s police has said.
Sar Thet, the head of Phnom Penh Municipal Police, added that some 300 people arrested in the raid were released on Sunday night after signing a contract to receive drugs education.
Police took urine samples from 302 people held in the bust, with most testing positive for drugs.
Police raided the Rock club early on Saturday morning and found nearly 50kg of drugs, 12 scales and a pistol. The venue was shut down later that day.
Thet said the 302 were released after signing the contract, while some 10 people suspected of drug trafficking and illegal gun possession were kept in custody and will be sent to Phnom Penh Municipal Court.
Thet said the parents of the drug users promised to take them to be educated about drugs and stop using them, while the parents of those who tested negative promised that their children were not involved on narcotics and would not touch them.
He said Phnom Penh police were committed to cracking down on other locations.
“Some of the 302 people had used drugs and some had not. For those who were involved in drug trafficking, we will proceed in accordance with the law . . . We are preparing the case and questioning them thoroughly, and we will send them to court,” Thet said.
He said questioning was ongoing in order to find the ringleaders of those who brought the drugs into the nightclub.
The contract, obtained by The Post on Monday, reads: “The authorities have educated me and allowed me to return home. I will make an effort to correct myself to be a good citizen [and will] not [break the] law. [I will] not use and will stop using all kinds of drugs.”
The contract also requires the released club-goers to report it if they see someone committing a crime, while they must appear without fail when authorities demand.
A Facebook user named Chet July wrote on Monday: “Tonight, there is a good news. Lieutenant Sar Thet, Deputy National Police chief and Phnom Penh police chief, had mercy and allowed the parents to bring their children to be educated and made them sign a contract."
“There will be no [tolerance] next time to return home and walk free. Congratulations! Brothers and sisters, have freedom and reunite with your families. But the dealers – those who kept drugs – were another case and will be punished in accordance with the law.”
Meas Vyrith, the secretary-general of the National Authority for Combating Drugs, thanked all relevant authorities for their efforts in helping reduce the amount of drug users.
He said authorities would likely be able to find the ringleaders as they had arrested suspects who could provide valuable information.
“The important thing is [finding] evidence of who were the leaders . . . We have found many people, so those people will help by providing information to the authorities,” he said.
