Cambodian authorities revealed that officials raided another large scammer gang base in the city of Bavet, detaining over 2,000 suspects, nearly all of whom were Chinese.
Foreign news agencies reported on 2 Feb 2026 that Cambodian officials conducted a major raid on a fraud gang’s base, detaining more than 2,044 suspects amid pressure from China to seriously crack down on the online scam industry.
According to Cambodia's Ministry of Interior, nearly 1,800 of those detained were Chinese nationals.
The ministry’s statement said Cambodian police carried out a broad law enforcement operation on the morning of Saturday, 31 January, at a group of residential buildings used as an online scam center in Bavet, the largest city in Svay Rieng province in the southeast, bordering Vietnam.
The 2,044 detainees included 1,792 mainland Chinese, 179 Burmese, 144 Vietnamese, 5 Taiwanese, with the remainder being foreigners from neighboring countries in Southeast and South Asia.
The statement did not clearly specify whether Cambodia plans to extradite the foreign suspects back to their home countries for prosecution.
However, it is expected that the Chinese suspects will be handed over to the Beijing government, similar to the case of Mr. Chen Zhi, founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group, accused of masterminding online crimes in Cambodia and repatriated to China earlier in January.
Mr. Chen was accused of involvement in various illegal activities, including running casinos, fraud, operating illegal businesses, and laundering proceeds from crime.
Cambodia China Times reported late Saturday that the Bavet raid was the "largest operation" since Cambodia recently launched nationwide measures to combat online scams.
Touch Sokhak, spokesperson for Cambodia's Ministry of Interior, stated that this latest raid clearly demonstrates the government’s unwavering stance against online scam criminals, emphasizing, "Cambodia is not a paradise but a hell for criminals."
The raided group of 22 buildings in Bavet operated front casinos and were reportedly used for long-term illegal activities, including telecommunications and online fraud.
Meanwhile, Cambodian authorities have deployed forces to suppress illegal activities in several other areas, including Sihanoukville province, located about 250 kilometers southwest of Phnom Penh.
Cambodia China Times claimed that the strict crackdown has caused many scam websites to shut down voluntarily and related groups to flee the area.
Cambodia's Special Task Force Against Online Fraud revealed last week that over the past seven months, 5,106 suspects from 23 countries have been arrested for online fraud in Cambodia, with 4,534 already repatriated to their home countries.
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Source:cna