Chinese & Viets Detained In Illegal Cigarette Factory Raid

Phnom Penh: An unlicensed cigarette factory owned by a Chinese company, BPA, located in Ang Village, Sangkat Choam Chao 3, Khan Por Sen Chey, was raided by the Anti-Counterfeiting Committee of the Ministry of Interior together with local authorities on the afternoon of August 11, 2020.

In the operation to crack down on illegal cigarette factories, the Secretariat of the Anti-Counterfeiting Committee of the Ministry of Interior worked with the Chinese Police, local law enforcement forces and local authorities under the coordination of Mr. Say Nora, Deputy Prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

According to the authorities, the company has been producing many brands of Chinese cigarettes for more than two years, and more than 100 workers have been employed without permission from the Ministry of Commerce. 14 Chinese nationals and Vietnamese nationals were found living and working illegally, and the authorities arrested them.

According to the workers, they did not know whether this factory was legal or not, and were paid more than $ 100 per person.

After professional forces inspected and cracked down on the illegal Chinese cigarette factory, with the consent of the prosecutor, the raw materials for the production of cigarettes were confiscated, while the foreigners were taken to the Ministry of Interior’s immigration department. 

More than 100 Cambodian workers were authorized to cooperate with the Ministry of Labor to prepare to pay their salaries and not to continue working there because the factory has been closed. POST NEWS