Seoul: South Korean and Cambodian police have agreed to expand the scope of their joint investigation team to include drug and online gambling crimes, as announced by Seoul's National Police Agency (NPA). The agreement was reached during discussions in Seoul between Acting NPA Chief Yoo Jae-seong and his Cambodian counterpart, Sar Thet, as part of their collaborative efforts to address transnational crimes involving South Koreans.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Cambodian-Korean Joint Task Force for Koreans was initially established late last year. Its primary aim was to combat scam crimes involving Korean nationals in Cambodia, prompted by the public outrage following the torture and death of a Korean college student who was deceived into the country through an employment scam. In response to this incident, the joint task force has successfully apprehended 166 scam suspects and rescued five South Korean nationals who were held in scam centers.
The NPA has also announced plans to initiate an official development assistance project valued at 18 billion won (US$12 million) in collaboration with the Korea International Cooperation Agency. This initiative aims to enhance the crime scene investigation capabilities of the Cambodian police, further strengthening the partnership between the two countries in combating crime.