KhmerTimes-June 24, 2025
Cambodia is facing an unprecedented challenge from synthetic drug production and trafficking, according to Martin Reiterhuber, a synthetic drug expert with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), who spoke to Khmer Times in an exclusive interview during a mission in the Kingdom. Speaking in a Cross Talk session last week, Reiterhuber detailed the growing scale and complexity of drug crimes in Cambodia, emphasizing the emergence of clandestine laboratories producing synthetic drugs on a massive scale. “We have seen one of the largest facilities ever documented, producing drugs at a tonnage level — predominantly for export,” he said. Cambodia is increasingly becoming a hub where criminal networks import precursor chemicals from various countries — including China, India, and neighboring states — to produce synthetic drugs. These chemicals, often diverted from legitimate industrial imports, are handled in secret labs located near communities, posing severe health and safety risks. In response, the UNODC is working closely with Cambodian authorities, especially the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD). Over the past weeks, Reiterhuber and his team have trained national officers on safely handling and storing toxic chemicals, including equipping them with personal protective gear to safely dismantle chemical stockpiles.
He stressed that the rise in synthetic drug production in Cambodia is part of a broader regional shift. The traditional Golden Triangle drug trafficking routes, spanning Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar, have been disrupted by political changes in Myanmar, pushing trafficking flows along the Mekong River through Laos and Cambodia. “This is not just a local issue; it’s a regional problem that requires coordinated responses,” Reiterhuber explained. Read more at:
