Laos - August 2024

Laotian and Chinese law enforcement carried out several raids on online scammers operating in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ), reportedly detaining over 2,000 people and deporting the overwhelming majority who were foreign (mostly Chinese) citizens. The GTSEZ was opened in 2008, ostensibly to attract investment and promote development in a remote corner of Laos. The Chinese organisation that operates the GTSEZ has been under US Treasury sanctions since 2018 for “drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, bribery and wildlife tracking.” On 9 August Laotian authorities had ordered all illegal businesses to vacate the GTSEZ by 25 August, but raids reportedly began several days before the deadline. The operation possibly marks the end of the GTSEZ, which sits on the borders of Myanmar and Thailand, as a legal “zone of exception” where criminal enterprises were able to find infrastructure for online scams, human trafficking, smuggling and other crimes. Many of those deported were themselves victims of human trafficking, as individuals who were lured to the GTSEZ to work in the service industry before being forced to work for criminal organizations.

Sources: The Diplomat, Radio Free Asia, NDTV, International Crisis Group, Laotian Times