Fake Indian police station, Gandhi portraits found inside 'digital arrest’ scam den in Cambodia
PTC News Desk: In a major crackdown on transnational fraud in recent weeks, Cambodia has closed approximately 200 scam centres, a senior government official said.
“There are about 190 locations that we have sealed off now,” Chhay Sinarith, senior minister and chair of Cambodia's Commission for Combating Online Scams, said in Phnom Penh this week before the visit to a sprawling complex in Kampot province near the Vietnam border.
At least 173 major figures linked to the centres had been arrested and 11,000 workers deported in a campaign that began last year after the US indicted and China extradited a China-origin scam kingpin a strongest international clampdown so far against the criminal networks.
"We have only about 1,000 policemen in the entire province and there are about 300 military policemen,” said Kampot provincial police chief Mao Chanmothurith during the government-organised tour. “Even with both forces combined, we still can’t stop them because there were about 6,000 to 7,000 of them when they left this place,” he said.
In recent weeks, thousands of people working in scam centres — including some who were victims of human trafficking and forced to work in harsh conditions — have escaped from these compounds while trying to return to their home countries. Amnesty International has described the situation as a “humanitarian crisis.”
At the Kampot compound, reporters saw large rooms filled with computers and desks. There were documents explaining how to cheat Thai victims, studio booths used for making scam calls, and even a fake Indian police station set up for fraud activities. The Indian embassy in Phnom Penh has not yet responded to requests for comments.
Officials said no arrests were made inside the Kampot casino complex, known as My Casino. Many workers ran away after police arrested the suspected boss and businessman Ly Kuong. Police also said they did not have enough staff to stop or detain those who were leaving.
There is currently no available contact information for representatives of Ly Kuong, who remains under arrest.
- With inputs from agencies
