Prime Minister Hun Manet has ordered that all state officials, from the national to the sub-national level, who are found to be positive for narcotics will be dismissed from their posts.

“I just signed the order. We will increase the implementation across the whole spectrum of government. This means that all civil servants, members of the armed forces and authorities at the national and sub-national level will be fired if they test positive or are found to be involved with drugs,” he said.

“There will be no more tolerance within state institutions,” he added.

Manet issued the warning while addressing the closing ceremony of the National Authority for Combating Drugs’ (NACD) annual meeting, held on the afternoon of February 20. 

“This is to avoid anyone suggesting that these are applied to soldiers and police officers, but not to civil servants,” he explained.

In 2023, Cambodian law enforcement agencies investigated 8,063 drug cases, arresting 20,002 suspects, and seizing nearly three tonnes of narcotics. In total, over 347 tonnes of drugs and precursor chemicals were destroyed.