Phnom Penh gendarmes recently dismantled a group accused of using massage shops as cover to steal from customers. The investigation began after a foreign man called the 1291 gendarmerie assistance hotline on January 25, 2026, reporting that US$1,400 in genuine banknotes in his wallet had been replaced with counterfeit notes after a visit to a massage shop on Sothearos Boulevard in Tonle Bassac commune, Chamkar Mon district.
Late on January 26, Phnom Penh gendarmes’ anti-human-trafficking office and the Chamkar Mon gendarmerie unit raided the shop. Behind a wardrobe in a massage room they found a concealed sliding door leading to a neighbouring passage. Suspects allegedly used it to swap customers’ cash while they were distracted during massages. Officers then acted at two associated shops on Streets 63 and 278 in BKK1 commune, finding similar hidden passages and counterfeit US banknotes used in the scheme.
Eight people were taken in during the operation. Gendarmes said investigations established that five, including three women, were directly involved, while a shop owner nicknamed Sros remained at large. The five suspects admitted using the passages to steal and replace customers’ money, according to investigators, and were sent with the evidence to court for legal proceedings. The other three were allowed to leave after being cleared of suspicion.
Compiled reporting by KPS99TV.
