Background
Cybercrime enforcement in Cambodia includes police operations against suspected online scam activity, especially when criminal groups use residential or compound-style locations to conceal operations. Cyber-enabled fraud enforcement in Cambodia can involve site raids, arrest procedures, evidence seizure, and coordination with judicial authorities when suspected criminal activity is identified.
Poipet is a border city in Banteay Meanchey province, located along Cambodia’s western frontier with Thailand. Border-area policing in Cambodia often requires coordination between national police units, provincial authorities, and prosecutors when foreign nationals are involved in suspected criminal activity.
The National Police of Cambodia is the national law-enforcement institution responsible for public security operations and criminal policing across the country. Operations involving online scam allegations are part of Cambodia’s broader security response to technology-enabled crime and cross-border criminal networks.
Enforcement Actions
On 5 May 2026, specialized forces of the National Police of Cambodia continued an operation in the outskirts of Poipet city, Banteay Meanchey province, targeting locations described as hideouts for foreign nationals who had allegedly fled earlier crackdowns on online scam activity.
The National Police said the operation covered two villa locations in Toul Prasat village, Poipet commune, Poipet city. Police reported the arrest of several hundred foreign nationals and the seizure of a handgun, vehicles, and other materials.
Institutional Role
The operation was carried out under the order of Commissioner General Sar Thet, head of the National Police of Cambodia. The police statement identified Deputy Commissioners General Moung Sothea, Yim Leang, and Siang Sen as operational leaders.
The operation was conducted with coordination from a representative of the prosecutor attached to the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court of First Instance. Prosecutor coordination indicates that the enforcement action was handled through criminal justice channels rather than as a routine administrative inspection.
Operational Implications
The reported arrests and seizures provide a reference point for Cambodia’s handling of suspected online scam operations involving foreign nationals in a border city. The case also records the use of national-level police units in a provincial enforcement operation connected to cybercrime and public security.
The National Police statement did not provide final judicial outcomes, charges, nationalities, or deportation measures. Those matters would require separate official confirmation from the competent authorities.
