Cambodia’s scam-center underworld linked to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and its cryptocurrency millions

Cambodian and U.S. anti-drug agencies have uncovered a criminal network that uses cryptocurrency to fund the Sinaloa Cartel, a powerful Mexican drug organization, according to officials from both countries. Meas Vyrith, secretary-general of Cambodia's National Authority for Combating Drugs, announced that authorities in Phnom Penh and Kandal province have made arrests and seized assets, drug labs, and storage facilities linked to the cartel.

Over 200 kilograms of illegal drugs and more than one ton of precursor chemicals were confiscated. Additionally, U.S. officials seized about $7 million in cryptocurrency, which is now the subject of a separate investigation. The Sinaloa Cartel is known for producing the synthetic opioid fentanyl, responsible for thousands of overdose deaths annually in the U.S. Cambodia primarily serves as a transit hub for drugs from the Golden Triangle region but has recently become a stronghold for Chinese-led organized crime groups involved in scam centers that defraud people worldwide.

In 2024, U.S. federal prosecutors alleged that the Sinaloa Cartel collaborated with Chinese banking groups in the U.S. to launder over $50 million from drug sales.