Cambodia smashes international human trafficking ring

Police from the Cambodian Ministry of Interior have smashed an international human- trafficking ring led by prominent expatriates which has allegedly been responsible for the illegal transit of hundreds of South Asians through Cambodia to first-world nations, local media said on Tuesday.

The ring, reportedly led by Sri-Lankan and Pakistani expatriates, had planned to transport over 200 people through Cambodia to several developed nations including Australia and destinations in the European Union, according to Chhay Sinnith, director of the department of information at the ministry, reported Cambodian-language newspaper the Rasmei Kampuchea.

There were three ringleaders in the case, all of whom managed to flee Cambodia before the police could arrest them, he said.

The first was Mariam Pillai Lerins Ranni, the 40-year-old Sri Lankan owner of the Raani Curry Leaf Restaurant in Phnom Penh. The second is Lipton Lerins, a relative of Ranni, and the third Mohammed Nadim, the Pakistani owner of the Taj Mahal Restaurant in Siem Reap, reported Chinese-language newspaper the Commercial News.

A further three suspects including two more Sri-Lankan nationals and a Pakistani were detained, and subsequently expelled from Cambodia for the crime over Sept. 1 and 2, said Sinnith.

The crackdown was the culmination of a months-long investigation conducted jointly by the Cambodian police, the Interpol and the police from other concerned nations, he said, adding that the traffickers had established a network in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Kampot and Sihanoukville.

The ministry cracked a similar case in 2002, which resulted in the rescue of 248 illegally trafficked persons and the arrest of the ringleaders involved, he added.

Source: Xinhua