Crime and law enforcement
Crimes
Govt wants Mekong group to address scam gangs
The government will use the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) meeting this week to seek cooperation from neighbouring countries to address the problem of call centre scam gangs. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said he had instructed Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa to raise the issue with participating countries and ...
Post Reporters
Number of IDPs in Myanmar Has Surged Above 1.8 Million
The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) surpassed 1.8 million in war-ravaged Myanmar on June 12, 2023, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Prior to the February 2021 military coup, the estimated number of internally displaced people was 328,000. They were in ...
THE IRRAWADDY
Cambodia wildlife official faces 145 years in jail for smuggling long-tailed macaques to US
Federal prosecutors have charged eight people with smuggling endangered monkeys, including a Cambodian wildlife official who was arrested in the US while travelling to a conference on protecting endangered species. The official plus a colleague in that country’s wildlife agency and six people connected to a ...
Associated Press
Social media's role in tackling crime
Social media can play a role in stopping crime, but it can also contribute to the exploitation of children and youths, according to police. Last Monday, a woman suspected of offering her daughter to clients for sex on the internet was arrested following the help of ...
Cambodia remains a regional money laundering centre
Cambodia Minister of Interior Sar Kheng understands the impact that money laundering can have on his nation. “Our country’s reputation is at stake,” Sar Kheng said in July 2020. “If [the Financial Action Task Force] consider Cambodia a money-laundering destination, it will badly impact our banking ...
ASHLEY YEONG
Wildlife Alliance Seize Bushmeat & Turtles
On a raid this month, Wildlife Alliance’s WRRT seized 71kg of bushmeat, 10 live Asian leaf turtles, and more than 50kg of turtle carapaces and plastrons from a restaurant in Koh Kong province. The team released the turtles back into the wild and destroyed the wildlife ...
Trafficking warning in Asia as coronavirus pummels economies
Before lockdowns, curfews, and safe distancing, Thodsapone Kitta would go door to door, visiting low-income families in Thailand’s northern Nan province, a poor, mountainous region home to hill tribes and rural farmers where people are vulnerable to trafficking. For Thodsapone, a member of The Freedom Story, ...
Caleb Quinley
Myanmar seizes largest crystal meth haul this year
Myanmar authorities seized more than 1,700kg of crystal meth worth nearly US$29 million in a multi-state operation this week, the biggest haul of 2019 in a country widely believed to be the world’s largest methamphetamine producer. High-grade crystal meth – or “Ice” – is smuggled out of ...
Four countries launch 80th joint patrol on Mekong River
The 80th Mekong River joint patrol, led by China, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand, started from Jinghong port in China’s southwestern province of Yunnan province on March 19. Five vessels joined the four-day patrol that will involve inspections, a crackdown on drug crimes in key waters, including ...
Meth production in Vietnam, Laos and Thailand booming: UN
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) published a report Tuesday which names the “Golden Triangle” of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos as the heart of methamphetamine production and trafficking in East and Southeast Asia. The report also states Taiwan-based crime syndicates operating across ...