Interior Minister Sar Sokha presided over a massive burn in Takeo province this morning, torching nearly 800 tons of counterfeit cigarettes and raw production materials, sending up a cloud of smoke that made the scene look like a giant hotpot party.
The illicit haul stems from a joint operation between Cambodian and Chinese police. On June 12, authorities raided a facility in Takeo that looked like a legitimate factory on the outside, but was actually running a hidden counterfeiting operation. Police arrested a 44-year-old Chinese supervisor who was already wanted by Guangzhou police, and he has since been extradited back to China.
Local media reported that over 370 tons of finished fake cigarettes were seized in total, including knockoffs of popular international and Chinese brands like ESSE and JET. With the safety hazard finally cleared, street vendors peddling cheap smokes around town will probably have to look somewhere else for their stock.
