Chinese nationals (in orange vests) who were arrested over a suspected internet scam, are escorted by Chinese police officers before they were deported at Phnom Penh International Airport, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, October 12, 2017. REUTERS/Samrang Pring
October 28, 2017
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Cambodia on Saturday deported 61 Chinese nationals wanted in China on suspicion of extorting money from people there over the internet and by phone, Cambodian police said.
Several hundred suspected scammers have been arrested in Cambodia, which has emerged as a major center of rackets that have cost the victims billions of dollars.
Pictures sent to Reuters on Saturday showed suspects wearing red shirts with their wrists bound together ahead of the deportation.
Uk Heisela, chief of investigation at Cambodia’s immigration department, said Chinese police had arrived to pick up the suspects.
“The Immigration Department deported 61 suspects, including 13 women, who were involved in extortions on the internet,” Uk Heisela told Reuters.
Uk Heisela said they had been detained during raids on Oct 17 and Oct 21 in the capital, Phnom Penh, and in Kandal and Preah Sihanouk provinces.
There were no Taiwan suspects among the 61.
Taiwan has been unhappy that Taiwanese extortion suspects have been deported to China in the past and has accused Phnom Penh of acting at the behest of Beijing.
China considers self-ruled Taiwan sovereign territory and Cambodia is one of China’s closest allies in Southeast Asia.
(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Nick Macfie)
