The Anti-Drug Unit, in collaboration with Bavet Police in Svay Rieng province, conducted a series of raids in Bavet town which targeted a drug trafficking operation.

The February 13 and 14 raids netted a substantial haul of narcotics and also led to the seizure of five handguns.

Five suspects, all Vietnamese citizens were arrested, while a manhunt is currently underway for an additional five suspects, three of them Vietnamese and two of them Chinese.

A February 20 statement by the Svay Rieng Provincial Court announced that 2.34 kilogrammes of MDMA (ecstasy), 1.69 kilogrammes of ketamine and 635 grammes of methamphetamine were seized in the raids, in addition to the five handguns and 54 rounds of ammunition.

One car and two motorcycles were confiscated, along with $1,000 in US dollars, $155 in Vietnamese dong and assorted drug paraphernalia.

The suspects and the evidence were transferred to Svay Rieng Provincial Court on February 18.

Following questioning, the Investigating Judge ordered the provisional detention of the five suspects, aged between 21 and 38, on February 19 at the Svay Rieng Provincial Prison.

They, along with their accomplices who remain at large, have been charged with illegal drug possession, trafficking and use, as well as illegal firearm possession.

The suspects are being prosecuted under Articles 40, 45 and 48 of the Law on Drug Control, as well as Articles 8 and 24 of the Law on the Management of Firearms, Explosives, and Ammunition.

The authorities are continuing to pursue their partners in crime.