PHNOM PENH, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has recorded a drop in both the number of persons arrested in drug cases and the amount of narcotics seized in the first quarter of 2026, said an Anti-Drug Department (ADP)'s report released on Wednesday.
The authorities had detained 4,657 drug-related suspects during the January-March period this year, down 23 percent from 6,048 in the same period in 2025, the report said, adding that 225 of the suspects were foreigners in 12 nationalities.
"Some 684 kg of illicit drugs, 8.5 kg of opium, and 7.3 kg of dry cannabis had been confiscated from those suspects' possession in the Q1 of 2026," the report said.
The amount of seized drugs in Q1 this year declined by half from 1.4 tons seized in Q1 2025, the report added.
Most of the confiscated narcotics included ketamine, ecstasy, heroin, crystal methamphetamine, methamphetamine pills, cocaine, and cathinone, among others.
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. ■