Acting on a tip-off, Lao police raided a hotel in Vientiane’s Xaythany District on September 6, busting an online gambling and telecom scam ring operating right out of the rooms.
The operation was being run out of the Yuzhou Smart Hotel. Officers rounded up 43 suspects in total—41 mainland Chinese nationals and two from Hong Kong, four of them women. Police also seized a haul of equipment from the scene, walking away with piles of desktop computers, laptops, and mobile phones.
Authorities said the investigation is still underway and everyone detained will be processed under Lao law. Busts like this have been popping up quite a bit around Vientiane lately, keeping street-corner talk buzzing as people remind each other to stay alert.
