AKP Phnom Penh, April 22, 2026 -- 

Cambodian authorities have arrested 45 foreign nationals during raids on three suspected online scam operations in Preah Sihanouk province, officials said Tuesday.

The April 21 crackdown, part of a wider security sweep targeting 17 locations linked to tech-enabled fraud, yielded the following:

Sangkat Ream, Kampong Som City: 40 foreign nationals, including four Chinese citizens, were detained at a rental property and bungalow site. Seized items included 22 desktop computers and 110 mobile phones.
Sihanoukville: Five Chinese nationals were arrested at a rental villa in Sangkat 4, with 13 computers and seven mobile phones confiscated.

All 45 suspects and the seized hardware have been transferred to the provincial police headquarters for interrogation and legal proceedings.

The raids bring the total number of dismantled online scam hubs in the province to 32 since the Royal Government intensified enforcement efforts.

The operation follows the April 7 enactment of the Law on Combating Technology-Enabled Scams, signed by Acting Head of State Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen. The 24-article law criminalises technology-based fraud, operating or leading scam centres, recruiting or training fraud participants, malicious collection of personal identification data, and specialised money laundering. Convictions carry penalties including life imprisonment, fines up to 1 billion Riel (approx. US$250,000), and full asset seizure.

By K. Rithy Reak