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A U.S. national that was kidnapped and drugged in Thailand and then smuggled into Cambodia was recently rescued by Cambodian police.
As reported by the Khmer Times and The Phnom Penh Post, in a statement released on Tuesday, a National Police spokesperson said that the victim, identified Yu Emil, a Taiwanese-American man, was recovered in a rescue operation on Jan. 15. The operation was conducted a day after Emil’s family reported the kidnapping via the Ministry of Interior’s Facebook.
According to the statement, Emil was kidnapped in Bangkok by a criminal group of Taiwanese nationals, who lured him from Shanghai under the false pretense of attending the opening a bakery. After arriving in Bangkok, police say Emil was drugged and smuggled into Cambodia, where his captors tortured him and attempted to force a ransom from his family.
After Emil was freed, officers arrested a Taiwanese suspect, who they accuse of guarding Emir and preventing any escape attempts and also inflicted torture.
Emil is currently being monitered by the Cambodian National Police, and preparations to transfer him to U.S. Embassy representatives for additional management and reparation are underway.
The identities of Emil’s kidnappers are currently being investigated by Cambodian authorities, and the mastermind behind the kidnapping plot is believed to be based in Thailand. According to police, close cooperation with Thai authorities is expected to happen in the future, to further dismantle the entire criminal network.
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