Cambodian police have arrested more than 1,000 people in a three-day sweep against cyber-scam compounds, acting on a directive issued by Prime Minister Hun Manet that warned officials they could lose their jobs if they failed to act. The raids, carried out from Monday through Wednesday, targeted operations in at least five provinces, including the capital Phnom Penh, the Thai-border town of Poipet and the coastal hub of Sihanoukville. Initial police tallies show the majority of those detained are foreign nationals: 271 Indonesians, 213 Vietnamese, 75 Taiwanese and 27 Chinese. Authorities also reported seizing computers and hundreds of mobile phones believed to have been used in romance and investment frauds that siphon billions of dollars from victims worldwide. Cambodian nationals accounted for 85 of the arrests. The United Nations has described Southeast Asia as “ground zero” for such scams and estimates the regional industry steals about $40 billion a year, with more than 100,000 people enslaved in Cambodia alone. Human-rights groups say many workers held in the compounds were trafficked and subjected to forced labour, allegations the government pledges to investigate as it pursues further operations against the networks.