Court orders deportation of foreigners

Court orders deportation of foreigners

CAMBODIA: Cambodia's municipal court has ordered the deportation of four foreigners allegedly involved in human trafficking after finding them guilty of illegal entry, a court official said on Wednesday.

Prosecutor Sok Roeun said the four men -- two Pakistanis, one Afghan and one Indonesian -- were convicted during a trial on Monday.

Pakistanis Naeem Ahmad Chodri, 33, and Barkat Ali, 28; Afghan Hammad Wali, 37; and Indonesian Abraham Louhenpessy, 41, were convicted of illegal entry based on their expired passports, Sok Roeun said.

They were arrested in July for allegedly trying to transport a boatload of 253 asylum seekers, including 11 women and 14 children, to Australia and New Zealand. Most of them were Afghans, Pakistanis, and a handful of Iraqis and Indonesians who had paid to be smuggled.