Pirate massacres, trafficking factories & glam 'casinos' hiding brothels…criminal underbelly of backpacker haven Laos

11/23/2024 05:59 AM

FOR many Brits, the serene landscapes of Laos provide the perfect stage for wanderlust-fueled adventures.

But the popular Asian country has been rocked by a series of chilling tragedies that have led governments to issue warnings to visitors.

This week, it was reported that six people have died after drinking shots thought to have been be laced with methanol.

On Thursday afternoon, it was reported that British lawyer Simone White, from Orpington, Kent, had also passed away after falling ill and spending days at a hospital.

The 28-year-old was among six Brits who were rushed to hospital after being poisoned by alcoholic drinks last week Tuesday evening.

On Friday morning, Holly Bowles, 19, became the latest person to die after consuming an alcoholic drink at a bar in Van Vieng, a small town popular with backpackers. Her best friend, 19-year-old Bianca Jones died earlier this week.

A Thai police official said: “The physician who examined her said the cause of death was a methanol poisoning from fake liquor.

“The amount of methanol in her body was high, leading to swelling of the brain.”

Two Danish women in their 20s and an unnamed American citizen, 56, have also lost their lives.

The spate of poisonings has raised alarms, with authorities scrambling to determine the root cause behind the contaminations.

Cops have now detained the owner of the hostel Simone and her group were staying in before being poisoned, who served free shots to visitors on arrival.

He has denied his Tiger vodka was the source of the poisonings.

Now worrying claims have emerged that another bar that may have served Bianca and Holly the drinks also sold hard drugs and had ties with organised crime and the Asian mafia.

According to Australian media, Jaidee’s bar – which is a short walk from the hostel – is known to sell illegal substances such as ketamine, opium, and ecstasy.

Although the bar on the riverfront at Vang Vieng has a normal drinks list, it’s claimed there’s also a printed hard copy drugs menu.

It has not been suggested that any of the victims willingly took drugs.

A source told The Herald Sun: “I can't say too much, I need to protect my safety. The problem is at Jaidee's Bar. They are dangerous.”

While the cases of the tourists have shocked many around the world, criminology lecturer Hai Thanh Luon, who is part of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, says there are many cases of local deaths that have been swept under the rug.

He tells The Sun: “The deaths are shocking but a lot of people have died from this in Vietnam and Laos.

“It happens frequently. But I think these are the first cases for foreign visitors, which is why there’s concern in the Western world.

“This is not only happening in Laos. The alcohol yeast is very cheap and it’s very easy to illegally produce counterfeit wine or any alcohol with a high methanol, which poisons alcohol.

“It is very easy to buy Chinese yeast and they make these drinks themselves without any regulation or any clear methanol management and control by the authorities.”

The tragedies have now shone a fresh light on criminal gangs working in the underbelly of Laos.

“We are looking into the organised crime index for 2025 and Laos is a really big concern among the South Asian countries regarding criminal networks,” Hai says.

“In 2023, the country’s score on the criminal index was higher than the average, which is 5.2. But in Lao, it’s 6.15. When it comes to counterfeit production, Laos scores very high.”

From human trafficking to huge drug production, we look at the crime wave sweeping the backpackers’ paradise.

Human trafficking

Criminal gangs in Laos are known for trafficking people as young as 12 for cheap labour and sex. Victims are sexually exploited by tourists, foreign workers and wealthy business people.

Although both the Chinese and Lao governments have made efforts to crack down, the problem persists.

According to the Globalised Crime Index, corruption, a lack of transparency and a “weak” rule of law are reasons why officials’ plans are not working.

In May this year, it was reported that the Lao government had no funds to address the sharp rise in human trafficking.

In his Catfish Crime Gang documentary last year, presenter James Blake shed light on the impact of human trafficking on victims who are lured in with the promise of lucrative jobs.

His film centred around Myanmar, part of the Golden Triangle alongside parts of Laos and Thailand. He met victims who had been trapped in compounds and were forbidden from leaving.

He tells us: “One of the things that really stood out to me was how inhumanely these victims are treated. Some apply for what they believe to be legitimate jobs and fly out to where they’re going to work.

“They thought they were going to be working in Thailand and when they arrived, they were picked up and driven across the Myanmar border. Their passports were taken from them.

“They were held captive in these compounds and are essentially forced to scam people and have daily targets. If they don’t obey, they get treated absolutely horrifically.

“Some of the methods of punishment include getting electrocuted and beaten. The people that are committing the scamming crimes in are often victims themselves. It’s horrible.”

Once the victims are in the compound, there’s no escaping the brutal criminal gangs.

If they don’t obey, they get treated absolutely horrifically. Some of the methods of punishment include getting electrocuted, raped, beaten, and forced to perform humiliating tasks.

James Blake

James adds: “Many of the people do not want to be there, but unfortunately, they can’t leave. Once they’re in, they’re in. These are criminal organisations worth billions of pounds.

“If their victims try to escape and they are captured again, they can be beaten and tortured. The only way out is to buy themselves out by scamming or recruiting more people.

“Not only have they been trafficked and held prisoners, but they’re also forced to scam other human beings when they don’t want to do that. It’s a massive problem, and it affects us all globally.”

James met a scammer who had been ‘sold’ by gangs three times and told him: "We had a timetable. They were controlling everything. We have to work 16 hours and we don't have enough time to sleep. There were so many rules. If you don't obey them, they will punish you."

He adds: "If they kill us inside, no one will know."

James’ new documentary, set for release early next year, will look into how criminal gangs operate in the world of cybersex in Southeast Asia.

Many criminal gangs run operations through scam centres. Victims come from all over the world, including Nigeria and Brazil.

Earlier in the year, it was reported that a 14-year-old boy and ten Laotian men were freed from a Thai massage parlour where they were being trafficked for sex.

In addition to providing massages, they were forced to offer sexual services and any other abuse customers wanted, according to The Exodus Road.

Hai says, ” Laos is a transnational hub rather than the only destination. It also serves as a transfer point when it comes to human trafficking.

“There are a lot of victims from Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and even parts of Africa as well as many other countries. Some of them transit in Laos before being sold in Cambodian compounds.

“Human trafficking is a big concern in Laos. The victims are treated inhumanely. There’s a horrible impact on their mental and physical health.”

“Some people are hit with batons and tortured with electricity. They are scared 24 hours a day and forced to scam.”

Drug massacre

In recent years, Laos’ government has struggled to get a handle on the country’s rise in drug dealings.

Hai says: “Laos is the second largest producer of opium in the world. It is also the perfect transit area before drugs are taken to the rest of Southeast Asia and beyond.

“Drug trafficking in the country has the highest criminal score among the ten criminal activities under the Organised Crime Index.”

In 2011, the Golden Triangle saw one of its bloodiest days – an incident now known as the Mekong River massacre. It was a shocking attack that resulted in the deaths of 13 Chinese sailors.

Two Chinese cargo ships, Hua Ping and Yu Xing 8, were hijacked by pirates and their crew members were murdered.

The bodies of the victims were later found in the river, blindfolded, bound and riddled with gunshot wounds, a brutal indicator of organized crime involvement.

Investigations revealed that the attack was orchestrated by Naw Kham, a notorious Burmese drug lord and leader of the Hawngleuk Militia, in collaboration with corrupt Thai military personnel.

Naw Kham's gang had sought to use the vessels for drug smuggling and executed the crew after they resisted.

The massacre spurred an unprecedented security collaboration among China, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar, leading to joint patrols along the Mekong to combat cross-border crime.

Naw Kham was eventually captured in Laos, extradited to China and executed in 2013.

Despite his death, the incident highlighted the region's challenges, including drug trafficking, extortion, and corruption, which persist along the Mekong River's chaotic and unregulated waterways.

In 2021, police got a lucky break when they conducted the largest ever drug raid in the history of Asia.

Cops intercepted a truck in Bokeo carrying 55million methamphetamine tablets.

There was also more than 1.5 tonnes of crystal meth, according to the United Nation’s crime agency.

The Lao Brewery Company, whose crates were used in transportation, released a statement saying it was “disappointed” that they had been used for illegal operations and denied any involvement.

The vehicle carried beer crates in the region, which borders Thailand and Myanmar.

The area, known as the Golden Triangle, has a long and notorious history of drug production.

Kings Romans Group

The Kings Romans Group, controlled by businessman Zhao Wei, is an alleged criminal organisation headquartered in Laos’ Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ).

Officially developed as a tourism and casino hub, the GTSEZ has become a haven for illegal activities including drug and human trafficking, money laundering and wildlife crimes.

The U.S. Treasury designated the Zhao Wei organisation as a transnational criminal entity in 2018 due to its extensive operations.

Hai says: “Even with the US sanction, it is still not enough power to deter them. They are still active and not only involved in human trafficking. This company is a very big concern.

“They have created several companies under their umbrella, which they run them themselves. It is very hard for any journalist or academic to access it. It’s lawlessness.”

Tiger wine and bear paw meals

One of the group's most controversial dealings involves wildlife trafficking, where illegal products like tiger bone wine and pelts are produced and sold.

Farms in the GTSEZ, mostly owned by the Kings Romans group, breed tigers and bears for slaughter an investigation by the Environmental Investigation Agency found, with the rare animals being raised in rows and rows of concrete compounds.

"The keeper told investigators the plan is to acquire a total of 50 [female tigers] for breeding, with the aim of producing 500 tigers within three years and up to 1,000 tigers in the long term," reads the report.

Tiger skins, teeth and meat, tiger bone wine made from the farm's tigers, bear paw soup and bear gall bladders were among the illegal wildlife products on sale in shops and restaurants at the GTSEZ.

Undercover investigators found one restaurant displaying a live, caged bear cub and a python – both "available to eat on request," according to the report.

The menu also included bear paw, monitor lizards, pangolins and turtles, washed down with a jar of tiger bone wine.

The Kings Romans Casino, operated by Zhao Wei's alleged criminal network, is said to be at the heart of extensive illicit operations in the GTSEZ.

While outwardly a luxurious tourist destination, the casino is said to facilitate widespread criminal activities, including casino scams, human trafficking and prostitution.

It’s been claimed that the casino is used for money laundering and other financial crimes.

Criminal networks allegedly launder drug profits and illicit funds through gambling operations, taking advantage of weak regulations and bribed officials.

The GTSEZ has become notorious for its brothels, where trafficked women, many from neighbouring countries like Thailand and Myanmar, are forced into sex work.

Victims are often lured with false promises of employment but end up enslaved in abusive conditions.

The lack of law enforcement within the GTSEZ enables these operations to flourish unchecked.

Hai says the government’s inability to handle the issues comes from “weak governance” and a lack of transparency.

He says, “We have some evidence to demonstrate corruption. That’s a big problem. There’s also a problem with transparency and weak governance, alongside a weak regulation framework.

“But it’s very hard to demonstrate if and how the mafia or organised crime network is behind the scenes controlling or colluding with the Laos government.

“For example, it is very clear that the mafia colludes with the government and the military to control the country in Myanmar. But Lao is still under a communist party.

“Even though there is a weak governance, it is not clear how we can demonstrate that the mafia controls the government.”