Interpol issued a global warning on scam centers in the Mekong sub-region on 7 June 2023, stating that their rapid spread represents a "serious and imminent threat" to global public safety1. The warning was reported by the International Crisis Group in a photo essay published on 17 January 2024, drawing on a team visit to the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Laos in 20231.
"Interpol issued a global warning on scam centers in the Mekong sub-region on 7 June, noting that their rapid spread represents a 'serious and imminent threat' to global public safety."
The zone sits on the Mekong River in Laos, opposite Thailand and Myanmar, and is run by Chinese crime boss Zhao Wei under a 99-year land lease held by his Hong Kong registered company, Kings Romans1. His organization has been on the U.S. Treasury sanctions list since 2018 for "drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, bribery and wildlife trafficking"; Zhao has called these allegations "groundless"1. The Lao government holds an equity stake in the zone, which spreads across 10,000 hectares, but national police and other authorities reportedly need permission to enter, and law enforcement inside is handled by a private "public security bureau" modeled on China's units of the same name1.
Crisis Group reported that locals said people were locked inside four guarded high-rise buildings with barred windows and razor-wire fences and forced to work as online scammers1. Those held are mostly from China, Malaysia or Thailand, with others from as far away as Nigeria, Brazil and the Republic of Georgia, and are forced to lure people into fake investments, sham romances and other scams1. The team also witnessed separate million-dollar cash transactions without documentation at the casino's cashier desk1.
The zone is set to triple its resident population from 100,000 to 300,0001. It also includes:
- more than twenty hotels, dozens of high-rise office buildings, schools and hospitals1
- an international terminal being added to an airport 5km away1
- planning under way for a port across 2,000 hectares1
Bokeo province has gone from one of Laos's poorest to one of its best-off, registering the steepest poverty reduction of any Lao province since 2013, though locals perceive rising drug use and crime1.
What it means for players
The warning concerns scam compounds, not licensed gambling floors, but the two overlap in the Mekong region. People who take up online gambling or investment offers from contacts in these areas may be dealing with operations staffed by trafficked workers1. Anyone traveling near the Golden Triangle, including the Thai border at Chiang Saen, should note that the zone operates its own private police force and that Lao authorities reportedly need permission to enter1. Reporting routes for scams and suspicious sites are set out in our guide to gambling scams and safety in Asia. Country guides for Cambodia, Thailand and China cover local rules.
What happens next
China has moved to crack down on online scamming centers in the region, driven partly by domestic concern over Chinese trafficking victims1. Crisis Group has urged China and the U.S. to prioritize a coordinated regional approach to rein in criminality in such zones1. No further Interpol action has been reported1.