Cambodian police launched another vigorous operation, on the 10th raiding a casino hotel building suspected of engaging in telecom fraud activities, and arrested around 805 foreign nationals involved.
According to the Khmer China Times, this enforcement action targeted the Jinshi (Golden Lion) Casino Hotel building located in the southwestern coastal city of Sihanoukville, with police focusing on the 18th and 19th floors. The detained individuals included citizens from China, South Korea, Japan, the United States, the Philippines, Pakistan, and India.
Law enforcement also seized a large amount of equipment suspected to be used for telecom fraud activities during the operation, including about 650 computers and 1,000 mobile phones.
This is another key enforcement action following a large-scale crackdown by the authorities at the end of last month. On January 31, authorities destroyed a telecom fraud compound in Bavet City, Svay Rieng Province, near the Vietnamese border in the southeast, arresting more than 2,000 foreigners, most of whom were Chinese nationals.
According to official reports, since the night of the 7th, Cambodia has been repatriating Chinese nationals allegedly involved in telecom fraud activities within its borders in batches over four consecutive days, totaling 1,060 people.
● Cambodia Has Smashed Nearly 200 Scam Compounds
Chea Sinareth, Secretary General of Cambodia's National Committee for Countering Online Fraud, told foreign media that in recent weeks, Cambodia has dismantled nearly 200 scam centers to combat transnational fraud activities.
Chea Sinareth said: "We have so far sealed about 190 locations." He added that 173 key criminal figures related to these scam centers have been arrested and 11,000 people have been expelled from the country.
This week, the Cambodian government organized media tours of a scam compound in Kampot Province, located on the Cambodia-Vietnam border.
Inside the compound, there were multiple work rooms with rows of computers on the desktops and scattered documents instructing how to scam Thai victims. In addition, the compound also had soundproof booths for making calls, as well as rooms disguised as Indian police stations.
Authorities said that no one was arrested in this integrated building called "My Casino." After the behind-the-scenes boss, businessman Li Qiang (transliteration), was detained, a large number of people fled the scene. Police claimed that due to lack of personnel, they were unable to detain them.
Kampot Provincial Police Chief Mao Chan Matouri said: "Our whole Kampot Province has only about 1,000 police and 300 gendarmes, even combined we couldn't stop them. About 6,000 to 7,000 people escaped from here."
A week ago, Thai officials led the media to tour another scam compound in Cambodia that had been occupied by Thai troops during a border conflict. That compound also had fake police stations for several countries, including China, Vietnam, Singapore, and others.