Arya News - Cambodia has launched its 11th anti-drug campaign, against the backdrop of increasing global drug trafficking.
PHNOM PENH – Illicit drugs are destroyed, after being seized by authorities in the first half of 2025. Phnom Penh Municipal Court
Cambodia has launched its 11th anti-drug campaign, against the backdrop of increasing global drug trafficking. In 2025, the Kingdom seized 5.89 tonnes of illicit drugs and approximately 42.81 tonnes of precursor chemicals.
In an outline of the new campaign, released today, February 25, Prime Minister Hun Manet noted that throughout 2025, the global trend of drug-related crimes remained complex, was continually evolving and grew at an alarming rate.
This was particularly evident in the changing forms and methods of production, processing, trafficking, transit routes and the geographic expansion of drug use. Cambodia has also suffered negative consequences from this trend, he said.
According to the document, Cambodian law enforcement measures led to the closure of 12 drug-related businesses and 10,743 anti-drug operations, resulting in the arrest of 27,884 suspects across 2025.
During this period, authorities also sent a total of 16,216 drug addicts for rehabilitation treatment and successfully reintegrated 10,640 individuals back into their communities.
Last year, the prime minister issued Order No. 01 regarding the implementation of strict measures to combat illegal drugs within government institutions, at both the national and sub-national level.
Drug tests were administered to a total of 131,473 civil servants and armed forces personnel. Of them, 104 tested positive, resulting in 103 being terminated from their positions and expelled from the state framework. Legal procedures are ongoing for the remaining individual who failed a test.
In addition to law enforcement measures, authorities conducted educational campaigns across various platforms 208,318 times. These campaigns reached 23,301,442 recipients (with many individuals receiving the educational messages multiple times).
In his directive, Manet urged the authorities to vigorously implement the current campaign, with a comprehensive focus on crackdowns and education, as well as the treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts.