Drug bust tycoon faces charges

Oknha Tan Senghak (C) was arrested following a raid by police in 

Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district on Tuesday. Photograph: Pha Lina/Phnom Penh Post

An Oknha, his wife and some of the 10 others suspected of involvement in a drug-trafficking ring following a bust on Tuesday are set to be charged in court today, police officials said yesterday.

When police raided the villa of Oknha Tan Senghak they uncovered significant quantities of various drugs and drug paraphernalia, including a big bag of cocaine, powdered methamphetamine, ecstasy, a nitrous oxide bulb, crystal methamphetamine, bongs and pipes.

Senghak had allegedly been hosting a meth smoking soiree at the villa.

Khieu Saman, chief of the anti-drug department at the Ministry of Interior, said yesterday that police had about one more day to finish questioning the suspect but that as they wished to charge some of the accused, this had to be done within 48 hours of the arrest. 

“Though more than 10 suspects were arrested, some of them could be freed after questioning if they are [found] not to be involved in it, because some of them are students or minors and some are not involved in the operations so they will be freed,” he said. 

However, other charges could be laid if police questioning uncovered further cases, Saman said, adding that deals could be cut with low level suspects if they were honest and willing to work as informants should they be freed. 

Yim Leang, Chief of Senate President Chea Sim’s bodyguards, said Tan Senghak was a former advisor to Sim who was fired in 2005 after he was arrested and jailed for a long series of heinous crimes.

They included the attempted murder of a police officer in Phnom Penh, conducting a shooting spree and producing fake documents in order to illegally grab land, Leang said.