Nine Chinese Stand Trial for Drug Trafficking to Australia

2 min read
Illicit drugs confiscated by authorities (Chorn Chanren/VOD)
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Nine Chinese men stood trial on Monday for alleged crossed-border drug trafficking to Australia and New Zealand.

The men were arrested last year in Phnom Penh following coordination between Cambodian and Chinese police, presiding judge Nhim Pisal told the court.

According to the court, several others were also arrested in China in the cross-border drug trafficking case.

Judge Pisal said the raids were made at two locations in Borey Peng Huoth Boeng Snor in Chbar Ampov’s Niroth commune, and at a restaurant in Prampi Makara’s Boeng Prolit commune. He named the nine Chinese men as Liu Wei Cheng, Chen Zhiquan, Wang Lei, Sun Liang, Huang Rui Ming, Sun Hai Tao, Li Yi Nam, Wang Yue and Zhu Xiao Fei.

The men had packed drugs into rectangular metal tubes and planned to export them to Australia and New Zealand, Pisal said.

Authorities had confiscated 347.4 kg of methamphetamine as well as two scales and other equipment used for packing the drugs. The nine were charged with drug trafficking and money laundering.

Six of the defendants were questioned during the morning session, most of them denying they knew each other or anything about the drugs.

Wang Lei, the first to be questioned, requested a lawyer in addition to a court-assigned one, but the request was denied as it had already been several months since the case was opened.

Lei told the court that he had arrived in Cambodia in November last year and had participated in the packaging of drugs just one time after being promised $10,000 for the job. He also admitted to previously having had a meal with the other accused.

But he denied knowing that he was packing drugs.

Another defendant, Wang Yue, echoed the testimony, saying he was also offered $10,000 but didn’t know he was packaging drugs.

Meanwhile, Chen Zhi Quan said he was just a cleaner and he knew nothing about the drug dealing and did not help in transporting or packaging. He had only been in Cambodia for 10 days before his arrest after being promised between $2,000-$2,500 a month for the job.

However, a consulting judge noted that a cleaner in Cambodia usually receives at most $200 a month.

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