Cambodia arrests 166 Chinese for extortion

PHNOM PENH—Cambodian police on Thursday arrested 166 Chinese nationals for allegedly extorting money from victims abroad using Internet phone services, an official said.

A Vietnamese woman was also held in a massive police operation, national police spokesman Kirt Chantharith told Agence France-Presse, with arrests in the capital Phnom Penh, the southern town of Sihanoukville and the eastern province of Svay Rieng.

“They used the Internet to extort money from people overseas,” said Chantharith, adding that the extortion gang had “many tricks” to blackmail their targets, without providing further details.

He said the crackdown followed complaints from numerous victims.