Background
The National Police reported 20 anti-narcotics operations across Cambodia on 18 May 2026 that resulted in 57 arrests. These operations were carried out by a total of 11 participating agencies, comprising eight police units and three PM units operating in multiple provincial commands.
Authorities reported seizures including 132,081.67 grams of methamphetamine (Ice), 35,151.31 grams of ketamine, 0.19 grams of Wy and 1.17 grams of N-zapam as part of the nationwide actions on that date. The enforcement activity combined case types of trafficking, storage/transport, and personal use, with the nationwide breakdown listing four trafficking cases (13 arrests), eight storage/transport cases (14 arrests) and eight use cases (30 arrests).
Key Developments
The National Police statement enumerated provincial results and notable seizures: Phnom Penh reported seizures that include Ice (131,924.23 g), Wy (0.19 g), ketamine (35,151.31 g), MDMA (92,512.52 g) and NPS (9.62 g) and recorded multiple trafficking and storage cases; Siem Reap reported Ice seizures of 82.88 g across trafficking, storage and use cases with 17 arrests for use; Takéo and Kampot reported smaller Ice seizures (13.56 g and 144.28 g respectively) associated with storage and trafficking arrests. Other provincial commands reporting arrests or seizures on 18 May 2026 included Battambang, Kampong Thom, Kampong Cham, Preah Sihanouk (Poŭthĭsăt), Ratanakiri and Kampong Speu, with case counts and local quantities reported by each unit.
Institutional Role
Anti-narcotics operations were executed through coordination among provincial police commands and additional units identified in the National Police release. Arrests, evidence seizure and case classification (trafficking, storage/transport, personal use) were recorded at the unit level, with each participating command reporting its local case numbers and physical evidence seized.
Operational Implications
The reported seizure volumes and case tallies provide dated, location-specific enforcement data that can be used for longitudinal tracking of supply-side activity and inter-agency operational coverage. Aggregated metrics from coordinated nationwide actions supply baseline indicators for future comparisons of enforcement intensity and geographic distribution of narcotics incidents.
Official Source
Source: National Police of Cambodia social media release, 18 May 2026 — original post at the National Police Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/cambodiapolice/posts/pfbid023HuvnUfk4AaC4JPezkBkdMSEoCM8nrPNtNxoyT4c4Xdv5tnAWZr2dA9j9dTodgiCl
