PHNOM PENH, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has logged a sharp increase in both the number of people arrested and the amount of narcotics seized in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, according to an Anti-Drug Police Department (ADP)'s report released Sunday.
The authorities had nabbed 5,489 drug-related suspects during the January-March period this year, up 22 percent from 4,485 over the same period last year, the report said, adding that more than 100 suspects were foreigners in nine nationalities.
"A total of 3.65 tons of illicit drugs had been confiscated from those suspects in the Q1 of 2024," the report said, noting that in the Q1 of 2023, only about 241 kilograms of illicit drugs had been seized.
Most of the seized narcotics this year included ketamine, ecstasy, heroin, crystal methamphetamine, methamphetamine pills, cocaine, and cathinone, among others.
Cambodia has ramped up efforts in combating illicit drugs in recent months.
The Southeast Asian nation has no death sentence for illicit drug traffickers. Under its law, those found guilty of trafficking more than 80 grams of illicit drugs could be imprisoned for life. ■
