Bangkok: About 20 Japanese nationals have been detained by local police in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, for suspected involvement in a special fraud case, it was learned Wednesday.

Cambodian authorities are working with their Japanese counterparts to investigate the matter.

According to informed sources, police raided an apartment in the Cambodian capital on Monday night after being tipped off by the local Japanese Embassy and other sources, holding roughly 20 people. Some suspects are said to be on the run.

There have been a number of cases in which Japanese nationals based in Southeast Asia have been apprehended over special fraud cases. In Cambodia alone, 19 Japanese nationals were repatriated and arrested by Tokyo police in April, while two nationals were sent back to Japan and arrested by Saga prefectural police in August.

JIJI Press