Three foreign holiday-makers had their travels cut short when they were apprehended on Cambodian soil after they sailed from Vietnam without a visa.

The three – Russian nationals Anastasiia Gudimenko, 20; Mikhail Smolin, 28; and Kazakh national Vitaliy Yartsev, 53 – admitted to Preah Sihanouk provincial immigration police that they docked at the port of Sihanoukville on May 5 and spent three days in the Kingdom before their arrest.

Choun Narin, Preah Sihanouk provincial police chief, said the three were arrested on Sunday at a restaurant.

Narin said that the men told police they had crossed the maritime border illegally after they sailed from the shores of Nha Trang, in Vietnam.

The three had travelled to Cambodia in February this year by bus on valid visas, but were lacking the necessary documents on their latest trip.

They have been charged with crossing into Cambodia and remaining there illegally.

Police are preparing to send them to the General Immigration Department, where the trio are expected to be deported to their home countries but are not expected to face court or be fined.