On the evening of April 24, 2025, Cambodian police launched a raid in Bavet City, Svay Rieng Province, dismantling a suspected cross-border telecommunications fraud and online gambling criminal hideout. During the operation, hundreds of suspects were controlled on the spot, most of whom held Chinese passports. The arrested individuals have now been transported to the capital, Phnom Penh, for further interrogation and investigation.
This operation was led by Cambodian law enforcement agencies, targeting a concealed building in Bavet City. After the police broke into the scene, a large amount of criminal equipment was seized, including computers, mobile phones, fraud scripts, and records of large-scale financial transactions. It is preliminarily judged that this hideout is an organized group that has been engaged in transnational fraud activities for a long time.
Although the police have not yet announced the exact number of arrests, they emphasized that the scale is "huge, involving hundreds of suspects," and most of them are Chinese citizens. The police also stated that the related investigation is ongoing, and the evidence involved is being further analyzed by a professional technical team.
Bavet City, located near the Cambodia-Vietnam border, has been seen as a "new hotbed" for telecommunication fraud and gambling activities by multiple transnational criminal groups in recent years due to its lax regulation and low rent. This raid is the third large-scale concentrated cleanup operation against telecommunications fraud conducted by the Cambodian side since 2025 and is an important part of the framework for joint efforts between China and Cambodia to combat cross-border crime.
According to Cambodian police, they are currently coordinating with Chinese law enforcement agencies to verify the identities and involvement of the suspects. It is not ruled out that some individuals may be handed over to China or that bilateral extradition procedures may be initiated.
This raid has once again exposed the penetration of the overseas telecommunications fraud industry chain into the border areas of China and Cambodia. The Cambodian side stated that it will continue to strengthen cooperation with China in intelligence exchange, personnel repatriation, and law enforcement to cut off transnational criminal networks.
