Vientiane has seen a flurry of police raids lately, with officers descending on Nong Niao village in Sikhottabong district to bust two separate telecom fraud operations in a single day.
According to local reports, the joint operation by police and village officials kicked off on the afternoon of June 12 with a raid on a single-story rental villa. Officers detained six people inside—three Chinese nationals and three Lao nationals—and seized 12 computers, 12 mobile phones, 154 methamphetamine pills, and a small packet of white powder.
Following up on leads, authorities hit a second rental house in Nong Niao village at around 5:00 PM the same day. This raid yielded a much larger haul, netting 76 Chinese nationals in one go. The property was packed with computers and phones, operating as a round-the-clock scam center. The syndicate had kept a low profile behind closed doors, leaving locals completely unaware of the massive operation running right in their neighborhood.
In total, the twin raids netted 82 suspects: 78 Chinese nationals and 4 Lao nationals. All the suspects, along with the seized electronics and evidence, have been taken into custody for further questioning. With police tightening the screws and cracking down on unfamiliar faces in rental properties across the city, landlords are growing increasingly nervous that a sudden police knock on the door could implicate them next.
