Along the Mekong in Laos, on the border with Thailand, Myanmar and China, lies the "Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone" (Chinese: 金三角经济特区; Lao: ເຂດເສດຖະກິດພິເສດສາມຫຼ່ຽມຄຳ). If you spend just a few minutes there, you'll quickly realize that it's an area that Laos does not control. Who does? The zone has an area of about 3,000 hectares and was created in 2007 by the Lao government together with the Chinese-owned Hong Kong-registered company Kings Romans Group with the hope of generating economic development. A casino and hotels are the main attractions. But the zone has gained a reputation of being a Chinese city rife with illegal activities such as drug, human and animal trafficking, as you can read on Wikipedia. In January 2018, the United States Treasury Department sanctioned Kings Romans, its owner, Zhao Wei, and the "Zhao Wei Transnational Crime Organization," alleging the casino was used to launder money and traffic drugs, among other serious crimes. That's why holders of American passports are not allowed in, as this video docoumentations shows:
Another documentary bei International Crisis Group about the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone: Inside South East Asia’s Criminal Empire.
Read more:
Will the Chinese Scam Networks relocate their Operations from Myanmar to Laos?
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