A pair of darkly euphemistic phrases have gone viral in Cambodia, reflecting growing public unease as bodies – often linked to transnational crime syndicates – continue to turn up in suitcases or near casino enclaves tied to online scam operations.

While the hashtags are new, the violence is not. 

Cambodia ranks as the most crime-ridden country in the region, according to the crowdsourced data platform Numbeo’s latest crime index, which gauges crime levels through public and visitor surveys. The country scored 51.3, edging out Myanmar at 50.9.

The ranking reflects Cambodia’s well-documented role as a hub for transnational crime and cyber scams. Reports from counter-trafficking projects estimate that more than 150,000 people – mostly foreigners lured by fake job ads – have been trafficked into scam compounds in the country, generating at least $12.5 billion a year in illicit revenue.

Last year, a cybercrime watchdog tracked the brutality tied to these networks, noting disturbing patterns – bodies stuffed in suitcases, foreign “casino” workers plunging from buildings in alleged suicides, sometimes at the same locations and without yielding arrests.

Open-source reporting from CamboJA News has found at least 14 cases of murder and violent extortion near or tied to scam center hubs in the first three months of 2025 – compounding the unresolved cases of last year. 

Many victims were also stuffed into suitcases, dumped near casinos, or plunged to their deaths on the premises.

While many of the victims are foreign nationals, evidence suggests that perpetrators may be linked to larger transnational crime syndicates that have evolved over time. These groups, originally based in Macau and Hong Kong, relocated to Cambodia, where they now run large-scale cyber scam operations. The rise of these operations reflects broader criminal trends, not a reflection of any one nationality or group.

Human rights groups say weak law enforcement is a major driver behind the surge in violence tied to organized crime, which is now directly impacting citizens, investors, and Cambodia’s tourism industry.

“We see that the problem is lax law enforcement in our society, which can cause criminals to not fear the law,” said Ny Sokha, president of the local human rights group Adhoc, commenting on the grisly murders.

Among the latest cases, a decomposed body – yet to be identified – was found inside a suitcase along a highway in Koh Kong on March 25. The province is home to Sihanoukville, considered the nexus of the country’s cybercrime industry.

A few weeks earlier, another unidentified body was discovered in Kandal province – stuffed into a suitcase, weighed down with two dumbbells, and dumped in a canal.

According to the Cambodia Counter Trafficking in Persons Project (CTIP), Kandal is home to at least 12 online gambling and scamming sites, where many trafficked individuals are forced into criminal activity under threat of violence or retribution. 

In a separate case in Kandal, a Chinese national, Liu Sen, was abducted. Police later arrested a Cambodian suspect, Chea Wutthy, but four others remain at large.

Sihanoukville is home to at least 107 scam centers, according to CTIP.

Authorities have yet to identify additional suspects, motives, or arrests in these cases.

Also in March, in Tbong Khmum province – home to half a dozen scam centers, according to the CTIP – Chinese and Myanmar nationals were involved in hiding the body of a Chinese man who allegedly “fell” from a building, the National Police reported. Authorities have not disclosed where the man fell from.

In another case of suitcases being used to transport victims, a group of Chinese men kidnapped Vietnamese and Chinese women in Phnom Penh in January, stuffing them into hard-shell suitcases after beating them for an “extortion” scheme, according to police reports and local media. The operations appear symptomatic of the broader organized crime and human trafficking activity in the region. The suspects admitted to authorities they used this method at least six times.

In another spurt of extortion-fueled violence in the capital, a foreigner was found dead in a rice field in Prek Pnov district on March 12. Authorities called it a murder linked to “extortion” but offered no further details.

In other instances, simply exposing extortion and scam operations have also led to violent ends.

In late February, authorities found the body of an 18-year-old woman buried near a pond on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Police say three Chinese men tortured and killed her after she uncovered their online scam and money laundering operations. The gang had lured her with a job offer but never followed through. They were sent to municipal court, but National Police did not respond to requests for an update on their trial.

At the time, Radio Free Asia reported that when the victim’s mother testified, local police told her to “keep quiet” about the scam ring her daughter had exposed.

National police spokesperson Chhay Kim Khoeun did not respond to questions about whether authorities warned the victim’s mother to stay silent.

While lacking details, these string of violent crimes in the first three months of this year have sparked widespread public concern over security, raising fears about escalating crime at a time when authorities say they are expanding crackdowns on scam operations and transnational crime. 

“If these problems persist, they will hurt national development by driving away investors and tourists,” Sokha said, echoing widely recognized concerns that transnational crime has weakened foreign engagement in Cambodia’s economy. “At the same time, these crimes create fear among citizens and disrupt livelihoods.”

That fear is compounded by a string of deaths in January, several of which were tied directly to casinos long suspected of links to scam operations.

On Jan. 7, a Thai man plunged from the Genting Casino in Poipet, a border city in Banteay Meanchey province that hosts at least 30 scam compounds, according to CTIP.

Poipet has drawn heightened scrutiny recently after Thai authorities cut telecom services to the city earlier this year, citing their use by scam operations. Thai officials have even floated the idea of building a border wall to curb illegal crossings by Poipet-based criminals tied to online scams and smuggling.

Local media reported that management at Genting Casino, part of the larger Crown Casino complex, blocked police from inspecting the scene.

The casino is owned by ruling party Senator Kok An, who has been linked to alleged scam centers in Sihanoukville and Poipet, where trafficking victims are reportedly held.

The next day, another Thai man allegedly fell to his death from Golden Casino, also inside the Crown Casino compound. Thai media reported he had been trafficked into Cambodia to work in online scams.

Additional cases in Poipet include an Indonesian man who purportedly fell from the Crown Casino building on Feb. 1 and a 19-year-old Thai man who died after plunging from the same casino on March 4.

A nearly identical case was reported three years ago by the now-defunct VOD.

Back in the capital, a Chinese man was found dead near the NagaWorld 2 Casino on Jan. 12. Authorities have not released further details. 

Government spokesperson Pen Bona did not respond to a request for comment. Interior Ministry spokesperson Touch Sokhak and National Police Penal Department Chief Ngeng Chuo declined to comment.

The Indonesian Embassy told CamboJA News it would follow up on the cases but had not done so before publication. The Chinese and Thai embassies in Phnom Penh did not respond.