AKP Phnom Penh, April 08, 2026 --

Cambodian authorities have dismantled at least four online scam operations across three municipality and provinces, arresting hundreds of foreign nationals in coordinated raids carried out from April 6 to 7, officials said, underscoring a Royal Government's pledge to leave “no safe haven” for criminal networks.

The operations, conducted in Phnom Penh, Banteay Meanchey and Kep provinces, were carried out under directives from Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, reflecting an intensified nationwide crackdown on transnational cyber fraud.

In Phnom Penh, authorities raided two locations on April 6. In the first case, police searched a condominium complex in Khan Sen Sok, detaining 218 foreign nationals. 

Seized items included more than 170 computers, nearly 400 mobile phones, and various equipment allegedly used in scam operations, along with counterfeit Japanese police uniforms and identification cards.

Preliminary forensic analysis of the electronic evidence indicated the site was used for multiple forms of online fraud, including schemes impersonating Japanese law enforcement to target victims in Japan, romance scams, and investment fraud aimed at individuals in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam. 

The suspects and evidence were transferred to the Phnom Penh Municipal Police for further legal proceedings following instructions from the prosecutor’s office.

In a second Phnom Penh raid the same day, a joint task force arrested 27 foreign nationals at residential properties in the same Khan. Authorities confiscated dozens of laptops, over 200 mobile phones and other related equipment. Investigations are ongoing.

Separately, in Kep province on April 7 morning, police arrested 14 foreign nationals during a raid on a rental property linked to online scam activities. 

Suspects and evidence were sent to provincial police headquarters for questioning and further action.

In Banteay Meanchey province, authorities conducted another raid later that day at a casino-hotel complex in Poipet city, detaining 139 foreign nationals. Investigators found numerous electronic devices on the ground floor believed to be used in cyber fraud operations, while upper floors served as living quarters.

The latest crackdown highlights Cambodia’s escalating efforts to combat cybercrime networks that have increasingly used the country as a base for cross-border scams targeting victims abroad. Authorities said investigations are continuing and further arrests are possible.

By K. Rithy Reak