Cambodia seized 537 kg of cannabis as drug detentions reached 25,360
Cambodia's Anti-Drug Department reported 25,360 drug suspects detained in January-October 2026, 16.3% more than a year earlier, and 537 kg of dry cannabis seized, up from 516 kg in 2025. Overall narcotics seizures fell to 4.26 tonnes from 5.48 tonnes; the figures cover all drugs.
Cambodia’s Anti-Drug Department reported on 1 November 2026 that authorities
detained 25,360 drug suspects between January and October 2026.[1]The number
of people detained was 16.3 per cent higher than the 21,800 recorded in the same
period of 2025.[1]Foreign nationals made up 1,248 of the detainees, from 25
countries.[1]The department classified 48.3 per cent of the suspects as
traffickers, manufacturers, possessors or transporters, and 51.7 per cent as
users.[1]
Authorities confiscated4.26 tonnes of illicit drugs and 537 kilograms of dry
cannabis between 1 January and 31 October 2026.[1]That was more cannabis than
the 516 kilograms of dry marijuana seized in the same months of 2025, though
total narcotics seizures fell from 5.48 tonnes.[1]Seized evidence also
included 73 pistols and 27 homemade rifles.[1]The confiscated narcotics were
largely ketamine, ecstasy, heroin, crystal methamphetamine, methamphetamine
pills, cocaine and cathinone, the department said; the cannabis was listed
separately.[1]Khmer Times reported that the Anti-Drug Department counted
1,248 foreign nationals among the suspects, from 25 nationalities.[2]
Cambodia does not impose the death penalty for drug offences; trafficking more
than 80 grammes of illicit drugs can carry life imprisonment.[1]
Photos and video
Confiscated illicit drugs on display at Anti-Drug Department headquarters in Phnom Penh. Photo: Anti-Drug Department (ADP)Photo details
The articles give no single day for the figures; 1 November 2026 is the date the Anti-Drug Department released them, and the period covered is 1 January to 31 October 2026.
No cannabis-specific arrest count is published; the 25,360 figure covers all drug offences, including use.
The 537 kg is described as dry cannabis or dried marijuana; no split between seized and destroyed cannabis, and no plant count, was published.
The 4.26 tonnes of narcotics cannot be divided by substance, so no other drug is recorded here.
The later report does not say whether the 537 kg includes the fresh cannabis plants counted in the 2025 figures.
Both articles reproduce the same Xinhua report of the Anti-Drug Department figures; no Khmer-language original was opened.
Kandal Provincial Court charged five British men with possession, trafficking and transport under Article 40 after two stops at Techo International Airport. On 6 September officers seized about 18 kg of cannabis and heroin from two of them; on 9 September they found 73.017 kg of dried cannabis and 6.219 kg of white powder suspected to be heroin in the luggage of the other three.
An Anti-Drug Department report counted 16,498 drug suspects in January–July 2026, 10% more than the 14,977 a year earlier; 889 were foreigners. Authorities seized 2.51 tonnes of illicit drugs and 105 kg of dried cannabis, against 1.91 tonnes in the same period of 2025. The figures cover all drugs.
The Phnom Penh municipal court sentenced two British nationals to 14 and 10 years and a total 24 million riel fine for using, possessing, trafficking and transporting cannabis. They had been arrested at Phnom Penh airport on 17 June 2025 with 19.9 kg of dried cannabis before a UK flight. The 14-year term exceeds the 5–10 year band for 8–20 kg, suggesting aggravation or a charging issue.
Anti-drug police raided sites in Phnom Penh on 21 August 2015 and seized 1,487 kilograms of marijuana smuggled from Laos in coffee bags, plus 1.5 kilograms of cannabis oil. Three Cambodians were detained in what police called their biggest marijuana seizure in 15 years.
