An adult male was arrested at a small guesthouse near the Thai border at approximately 7 PM on Tuesday, March 28th by officers from the Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Police (AHTJPP) of Oddar Meanchey province with support from the AIM SWAT Team. The man was in the process of trafficking two girls, aged 13 and 14, to Thailand to sell for sex.
The mothers of both girls had reported to police that the girls had not returned home from school and had been missing for more than a day. As part of AIM’s newly expanded partnership with Cambodian law enforcement, the AIM SWAT Team assisted in the investigation which found that the suspect had taken both girls and held them in a guesthouse near the border. Following an intensive search, both girls were found, and the suspect was arrested on suspicion of attempting to traffic both girls to Thailand.
The investigation is ongoing to determine exactly what happened to the girls while they were detained in the guesthouse. Both girls are now receiving aftercare services at AIM Restoration Home, and the suspect has been charged with child sex trafficking related offenses and remanded to prison. The AIM SWAT Legal Team will represent both girls during all upcoming court proceedings.