An official said that from September 1 to 10, Cambodia’s immigration authorities legally carried out a concentrated deportation drive against 1,035 illegal foreign nationals, including 104 women, from 33 countries and regions, among them China, Vietnam and Thailand.
These were not simple immigration cases. The group was linked mainly to online scam operations, illegal border crossings, illegal stay and work, forged visas, and drug offences. To put it plainly, this was not a few scattered cases being handled one by one. It was a large-scale, batch deportation operation.
Among those tied to online scams, 572 Chinese nationals were deported on charter flights through Techo International Airport. Another 65 Thai nationals and 86 Vietnamese nationals were sent back through the land border checkpoints at Poipet and in Tbong Khmum province.
Here, once people hear about online scams or smuggling, it is not something unfamiliar, especially for those working night shifts, driving motos, or renting cheap rooms. Lately, the authorities have been watching illegal stay and cross-border crime much more closely. With so many people deported within just 10 days, the signal is already very clear.
