Kompong Cham police crack down on drug-using truckers
21 June 2018
As part of an ongoing campaign to reduce traffic accidents and prevent impaired driving on public roads, Kampong Cham provincial police have stopped 648 drivers since May, 95 of whom tested positive for drug use, usually methamphetamine derivatives known as “ice” or “yama”.

On Tuesday alone, 167 truck drivers were stopped and checked, and of them, 20 tested positive for the consumption of drugs. All 20 were in their thirties, with seven being drivers, five assistants and eight loaders.

Eth Dara, the provincial deputy police chief, said that on orders from provincial authorities, a campaign was started to check drug use among drivers to reduce traffic accidents.

“We checked 167 men today, all on board container trucks,” he said, adding that documents are being prepared to send 20 of them to court.

Dara said it is the fifth time since May that provincial police have set up checkpoints in Cheung Prey, Ba Theay and Kampong Siem districts. So far, 95 of the 648 men tested were found to have been using drugs.

“The objective of the campaign is to reduce drug use, which we believe is one cause of accidents on the roads,” he said.

Highlighting a major accident caused by a driver under the influence of drugs, he said: “The driver drove off from a bridge and hit a house. We found two small bags of drugs on him,” he said.

Run Rath Veasna, head of the Interior Ministry’s Department of Traffic and Public Order, said the daily checks for drugs and alcohol were the traffic police’s main duty.

“We have found that truck drivers who work at night often use drugs. These people are a danger to other road users. When they use drugs, they cannot control their vehicles properly. We try to set up checkpoints often, but we don’t have the capacity to check every road,” he said.
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