TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Cambodian police arrested three Taiwanese men and seized more than 16 kilograms of MDMA and drug packaging equipment in the country’s capital Phnom Penh on Thursday (Feb. 22).
Taiwan’s national police agency said on Sunday that Cambodian police had notified them the men had been arrested on suspicion of transporting and smuggling the illegal drugs, per CNA. Taiwan police said that out of the three arrested men, who are surnamed Chuang (莊), Wu (吳), and Lin (林), two are wanted in Taiwan on suspicion of fraud.
Taiwan police said that after the men are dealt with by the Cambodian legal system, they will be deported to Taiwan. Police said they are investigating whether the men were planning to bring the drugs back to Taiwan.
On Sunday, Chinese language Cambodian media published images of the three men in police custody. The men, who appear to be in their twenties or thirties, are pictured alongside a large quantity of powder, scales, what appear to be vacuum sealers, and bags.
Foreigners found guilty of drug smuggling, possession, or sale in Cambodia may be sentenced to long prison terms.
In July, the Khmer Times reported that life sentences for two Nigerian men convicted of smuggling two kilograms of cocaine into the country were upheld by the country’s Supreme Court. In November, a Cambodian appeals court likewise upheld 30-year sentences for two Thai women convicted of smuggling four kilograms of methamphetamine from the country to Japan in 2017.