China Repatriates Nearly 700 Fraud and Gambling Suspects from Cambodia

At the start of the year, Cambodia announced it cracked down on illegal gambling after authorities closed down 231 illegal gambling companies and completed 606 arrests in the process. 

On Sunday, the Ministry of Public Security announced that Chinese authorities have successfully completed the repatriation procedure for more than 680 Chinese gambling and scam suspects from Cambodia.

Multiple Charter Flights Repatriated the Suspects 

The joint operation that was possible with efforts from both Chinese and Cambodian police authorities was aimed at cracking down on crimes connected to gambling and fraud. 

After apprehending a large group of suspects, several charter flights began the repatriation of the individuals from Cambodia to China with the help of Hubei public security officials.

The first charter flew to China on April 12, carrying the first group of arrested suspects.

The freshest group of 135 suspects with alleged ties to illegal cross-border gambling and fraud was sent back to China via two chartered planes at the end of last week. 

The planes landed at the Tianhe International Airport located in Wuhan, which is China’s Central Hubei Province.

The Ministry of Public Security has asked Hubei police to initiate the investigation work and the handling of the suspects.

Tens of Thousands Repatriated Since the Start of the Year 

As a result of the rising number of illegal activities including cross-border gambling and telecommunications fraud that have raised a lot of public concern, public security bodies in China have carried on their efforts to cooperate with international law enforcement agencies. 

At the same time, their efforts included dismantling many cross-border criminal gangs and making a large number of connected arrests.

Since the start of the year, authorities have effectively repatriated tens of thousands of suspects with alleged ties in fraud-related ties and illegal cross-border gambling from the United Arab Emirates, Myanmar, and the Philippines.

The People’s Public Security University of China’s associate professor Wang Xiaowei explained that these crime gangs are known to hide overseas, which makes police investigations, evidence collecting, and arrests more difficult. 

Wang added that telecommunication fraud across borders frequently covers multiple countries, which makes global cooperation and coordination efforts between agencies even more complicated. 

Even greater challenges arise from having to handle international tele-fraud cases since they are not easy to probe and collecting evidence and presenting legal proof is even more complicated.

As public security authorities will stay vigilant and put even more pressure on cracking down on these illegal crimes to keep people’s lives and property safe, they also require the general public to boost their level of awareness and avoid going abroad to engage in gambling. 

The public is also asked to beware of the latest cross-border gambling and tele-fraud crimes and use efficient safeguards to protect their rights and interests as best as possible.