Cambodia asks U.S. help in "war on drugs"

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Reuter) Cambodian coPremier Prince Norodom Ranariddh
asked President Clinton Tuesday for immediate assistance in launching ``a
serious war on drugs'' in the Southeast Asian nation.

In a letter, Ranariddh told Clinton that fulltime U.S. Drug Enforcement
Agency officers should be sent to Cambodia immediately to control a narcotics
trafficking situation that had spiraled out of control.

``Given this new, growing and sophisticated drug phenomenon, the Cambodian
antidrug authorities are unprepared and almost paralyzed in some cases,
needing welltrained officers and modern methods of investigation,''
Ranariddh wrote.

He said Cambodia and other nations could face ``heavy economic consequences''
if the country continued to be a transit point for local and international
drug dealers, including individuals he noted were known by the U.S.
government.

Cambodia passed a drug law in January that hands down jail terms for
trafficking in marijuana, but Ranarridh said the law could not be implemented
without U.S. assistance.

A U.S. embassy spokesperson was not available for comment.

Last year, the U.S. placed Cambodia on its list of leading drug trafficking
nations.

Antidrug chief Skadavy M. Ly Roun has told Reuters that 59 tons of marijuana
from Cambodia were seized overseas last year and that local farmers have
planted some 3,700 acres of marijuana to meet overseas orders.

Recent drug investigations have been paralyzed by the country's divisive
domestic politics, analysts said.

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