PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodian authorities have detained more than 1,000 suspects in a major crackdown on cybercrime operations, following an order from Prime Minister Hun Manet to curb online scams threatening public safety, officials said Wednesday.
The arrests, conducted across at least five provinces between Monday and Wednesday, targeted foreign criminal groups involved in cyberscams, which the United Nations and other agencies estimate generate billions of dollars annually for international gangs, primarily in Southeast Asia. Hun Manet’s directive, issued Tuesday, authorized state action to protect “security, public order, and social safety,” citing the growing global and regional threat of online scams.
Information Minister Neth Pheaktra and police reported that the raids led to the seizure of computers and hundreds of mobile phones. Among those detained were over 200 Vietnamese, 27 Chinese, 75 suspects from Taiwan, and 85 Cambodians in Phnom Penh and the southern city of Sihanoukville. In Poipet, a border town notorious for cyberscam and gambling operations, authorities arrested 270 Indonesians, including 45 women, on Wednesday. Additional arrests included 312 people in Kratie province, comprising nationals from Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Vietnam, and 27 individuals from Vietnam, China, and Myanmar in Pursat province.
The crackdown follows a scathing Amnesty International report last month, which accused the Cambodian government of complicity in human rights abuses linked to Chinese criminal gangs. The 18-month investigation described “slavery, human trafficking, child labor, and torture” in over 50 scamming compounds across the country. “Deceived, trafficked, and enslaved, the survivors of these scamming compounds describe being trapped in a living nightmare,” said Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard, alleging the operations function with the government’s apparent consent.
Human trafficking is a hallmark of cyberscam operations, with workers often lured under false pretenses and held captive. The issue has strained Cambodia’s relations with neighboring Thailand, already tense due to a border dispute that escalated into a brief armed clash in late May. Thailand’s subsequent measures, including cutting off cross-border electricity and closing crossing points, were framed as efforts to combat cyberscams in Poipet but have been criticized by Cambodia as retaliatory moves tied to the territorial feud. The dispute has fueled nationalistic rhetoric, with both nations trading insults and debating cultural heritage.
Cambodia’s latest actions signal a push to address international criticism, but questions remain about the government’s commitment to tackling the root causes of cybercrime and associated human rights abuses.
