The Siem Reap Provincial Court placed Uk Pichreaksmey Udom, 20, in pre-trial detention at the provincial prison on Tuesday for trafficking in weapons after police found three pistols in his home in Siem Reap town on Monday.

Provincial deputy police chief Huot Sothy said on Wednesday that investigating Judge Kim Sothea charged Pichreaksmey Udom, who lived in Svay Dangkum commune’s Svay Dangkum village, under Article 489 of the Criminal Code, which prohibits the production or trafficking of weapons.

If convicted, the suspect faces between two and five years in prison with fines up to 10 million riel ($2,500).

He was also charged under Article 20 of the Law on the Management of Weapons, Ammunition and Explosives, a similar law, which carries a maximum of two years in jail and a fine of up to two million riel if convicted.

Sothy said police discovered the suspect had illegally transported the guns from Thailand to Cambodia.

During the 4:30pm arrest, police searched Pichreaksmey Udom’s house and confiscated three gas pistols, four bottles of gas, 11 boxes of bullets, 100 loose bullets, a laptop, a mouse and a pair of earphones as evidence, he said.

Sothy clarified that gas pistols can be lethal and are capable of being loaded with iron or plastic bullets.

“These are not plastic pistols and he is the middleman who brought them from Thailand to sell here,” he added.