Cambodia’s former anti-drug czar gets life for trafficking drugs

GlobalPost

Moek Dara was supposed to lead Cambodia's war against illegal drugs.

Instead, he skimmed off the nation's stash of seized narotics, profited from their sales and took bribes from drug syndicates, according to a report in the Phnom Penh Post.

The case of Moek Dara, former secretary general of the National Anti-Drug Trafficking Department, is embarrassing for Cambodia.

But at least his arrest — and the arrests last year of two generals alleged to have trafficked meth — show some headway in fighting Cambodia's other great societal ill: corrupt and gredy officials.

His life sentence is a welcome victory for Cambodia's Anti-Corruption Unit, which revealed Dara's crimes.

Will you support The World today?

The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!