Cambodia’s Capital Detains 3,000 Suspects in Year-Long Scam Crackdown
Cambodia’s Capital Detains 3,000 Suspects in Year-Long Scam Crackdown
PHNOM PENH, Sept. 23, 2026 — Phnom Penh authorities detained around 3,000 suspects of 22 nationalities and froze approximately US$800,000 in assets during a year-long campaign against online scams in the capital, according to a senior municipal police official.
Speaking to national and international journalists on Tuesday, Brig. Gen. Bun Sosikkha, Deputy Commissioner of Phnom Penh Municipal Police in charge of security, said authorities had cracked down on 184 cases, detained more than 3,000 suspects and sent more than 200 of them to court.
Authorities also froze about US$800,000 in assets allegedly linked to the offences, he said.
Some seized evidence has already been compiled into cases and sent to court, while other items remain in police custody for further investigation and legal procedures, Bun said.
Police said the scam operations employed a range of technologies and methods, including artificial-intelligence tools allegedly used in romance scams.
During the year-long campaign, authorities seized a large quantity of technological equipment, including:
- 29,900 mobile phones
- 3,952 monitors
- 3,170 all-in-one computers
- 2,064 CPUs
- 1,061 desktop computers
- 923 laptops
- 64 iPads and tablets
- 23 iMacs and MacBooks
Police also seized foreign passports and uniforms allegedly designed to resemble police uniforms from various countries.
The figures highlight the scale of equipment used in scam operations in Phnom Penh, where large numbers of devices can facilitate mass targeting of potential victims.
The municipal crackdown is part of Cambodia’s wider campaign against technology-enabled fraud. Separate national figures released by Cambodian authorities show that between July 2025 and August 2026, more than 830 suspected scam locations were investigated nationwide, with 663 sites raided and 86 large-scale scam compounds dismantled. More than 20,000 foreign suspects were also deported during the period.
National authorities have said scam networks are increasingly shifting away from large compounds toward smaller and more fragmented operations, making continued investigations and international cooperation necessary.
The Phnom Penh operation comes as Cambodia prepares to host the International Conference on Combating Online Scams (ICCOS 2026) on Sept. 23–24. The conference is being held under the theme “Acting Together towards Breaking the Chain and Eradication of Online Scams” and will bring together governments, law-enforcement agencies, international organisations, financial institutions and technology-sector stakeholders.
Cambodian authorities have described online scams as a transnational criminal threat requiring cooperation among countries. Recent national enforcement operations have involved partners including China, the United States, South Korea, Japan, Australia and ASEAN countries.
The government has also said that the crackdown will continue as criminal groups adapt their methods and attempt to establish new, smaller-scale operations.
