Phnom Penh (VNA) – Cambodia has intensified efforts to crack down on online and technology-based scams, with the latest move being the repatriation of 64 citizens of the Republic of Korea (RoK) involved in cyber fraud activities, according to the Cambodian Ministry of Interior’s General Department of Immigration.
The handover ceremony took place on October 17 in Phnom Penh as part of the country’s broader cooperation framework to fight transnational cybercrime. The Cambodian authorities said the repatriation of foreign nationals implicated in online scams follows legal procedures under mechanisms set by the Royal Government.
Over the past four months, under the direction of the Cambodia's Ad-Hoc Committee to Combat Online Scams, Cambodian police forces have raided 92 suspected scam operations across 18 provinces and cities. These operations led to the arrest of about 3,455 suspects in 20 nationalities, the prosecution of 10 major criminal cases in Phnom Penh and several provinces, and the deportation of 2,825 foreign nationals.
Authorities also rescued numerous victims of human trafficking and dismantled several organised crime and trafficking networks, underscoring the seriousness of the government’s campaign.
The latest repatriation followed the discovery of a Korean university student, around 20 years old, found dead at a popular tourist site in southern Cambodia, reportedly linked to an online scam network. The incident prompted both governments to act swiftly to address the growing problem./.
