PHNOM PENH: Cambodian authorities have arrested 50 suspects in a continued crackdown on online scam operations in coastal Preah Sihanouk province, local officials said on Tuesday.
A joint task force under the provincial administration conducted coordinated inspections on Mar. 23, targeting suspected cybercrime activities in line with Sub-Decree No. 03, authorities said. The operation covered 26 locations and led to raids on four sites identified as actively involved in online fraud.
Authorities detained a total of 50 individuals, comprising 36 Chinese nationals, three Cambodians (including one woman), five Indians (two women), three Bangladeshis, two Pakistanis and one Myanmar national. Seized items included desktop computers, laptops and mobile phones believed to be used in scam operations.
In a separate inspection, officials searched Golden Casino in Village 1, Sangkat 1, where they discovered additional equipment suspected of links to online fraud, including 186 desktop computers and 154 mobile phones.
All suspects and confiscated evidence have been handed over to the Preah Sihanouk Provincial Police for further legal proceedings, with investigations ongoing to identify and apprehend key ringleaders.
The Secretariat of the Commission for Combating Online Scams (CCOS), said that nationwide efforts between 2025 and the second week of March 2026 have resulted in the shutdown of 236 scam-related sites across the country. These included 91 casino-based operations and 145 sites operating out of boreys, villas, condominiums and residential properties.
According to the Ministry of Justice, Cambodian courts handled 79 cases linked to online scams over the past eight months, prosecuting 697 suspects of various nationalities.
Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet has pledged to eradicate technology-based fraud in Cambodia by April 2026, stressing that the country will not serve as a haven for cybercriminals. He warned that individuals and entities involved in such activities would face the full force of the law without exception.