Just after midnight on Sunday, anti-drug forces in Preah Sihanouk province raided a KTV in village 3 and arrested 62 Chinese nationals on suspicion of drug trafficking, the deputy police chief of the province Sun Sophat said.

Sophat said three of the suspects were detained for questioning while the rest were given urine tests to check for drug use.

“The three suspects who are being interrogated are the managing director and manager and general assistant of the club, and they were directly involved in drug trafficking,” he said.

The suspects, he said, would be sent to the provincial court on Monday, and the 23 packets of methamphetamine found at the establishment were taken as evidence.

Sophat said those who tested positive for drug abuse would be sent to a rehabilitation centre while those whose urine tested negative would have to sign a contract promising not to consume drugs.

Separately, on Friday, 18 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals were arrested by Ministry of Interior authorities for being linked to a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) scam, according to Kieng Suntharo, the Preah Sihanouk province deputy prosecutor.

He said the suspects could be handed over to Chinese authorities after an investigation.

“The Chinese nationals were sent to Phnom Penh at night for interrogation and follow-up procedures by the General Department of Immigration forces.

“They might hand them to Chinese police for sentencing in their country because Chinese police also joined the operation,” Suntharo said.

He said 35 laptops, 44 phones and 13 passports were seized in the operation.