Don Sao Island ⚠️ GOLDEN TRIANGLE Special Economic Zone ⚠️ ເຂດເສດຖະກິດພິເສດສາມຫຼ່ຽມຄຳ ⚠️ 金三角经济特区
The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (Lao: ເຂດເສດຖະກິດພິເສດສາມຫຼ່ຽມຄຳ, Chinese: 金三角经济特区, abbreviated GTSEZ) is located along the Mekong River in the Ton Pheung District of Bokeo Province in Laos. The zone has an area 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. The zone is dominated by the Kings Romans casino which attracts mostly Chinese visitors, and several hotels. It is part of a wider trend of casinos emerging in the Mekong region following the displacement of money laundering from Macao in 2014. Since its commencement, it has gained a reputation of being a Chinese city rife with illegal activities such as drug, human and animal trafficking although Kings Romans' owner has denied the allegations while Lao authorities have also carried out some enforcement action following the reports. 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. Despite this, consignments of drugs and precursors still transit near the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone. Seizures of high-grade crystal methamphetamine traced back to the Laos border are up over 200% in 2020 in northeast Thailand, and dozens of large seizures have been made in recent months in Vietnam along its remote and often mountainous 2,100 kilometer (1,300 mile) border with Laos as well. At the same time there are increasing reports of precursor chemicals from across the region going through Laos, destined for autonomous special regions and known drug-producing areas in neighbouring Myanmar. The SEZ is a known base for fraud factories, where global cyber scams are conducted. The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone is located along the Mekong River in the infamous Golden Triangle area where Laos, Myanmar and Thailand meet. The zone is midway (20.361150, 100.099807) between Houay Xay, the capital of Laos' Bokeo Province, and Tachileik, Myanmar. The Thai village of Ban Sop Ruak near Chiang Saen town, Chiang Rai Province lies directly across the Mekong River from the zone. Besides the casino, the zone has hotels, shops, restaurants, hospital and apartment blocks. There are also several markets in the zone, including the well-known Don Sao Market which is part of the itinerary of most Mekong River boat tours from Thailand. The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone is linked by road to Houay Xay which lies about 55 km to the east. The road is part of Lao Route 3 which continues from Houay Xay to Luang Namtha and thereafter via Route 13 to the China-Laos border crossing at Boten, a further total distance of 230 km. Houay Xay is also connected to the Thai road network via the Fourth Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge between Houay Xai and Chiang Khong. Roads also run north of the zone and connects with other villages along the Mekong River in Bokeo Province. In early October 2020, a $50 million investment to build a port in the Laotian town of Ban Mom, directly north of the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, was made by Osiano Trading Sole Co., a partner or front company of Zhao Wei and his organization. Zhao Wei is recognized as a significant organized crime figure by the United States Government for his involvement in the trafficking of drugs, wildlife and people, and other forms of serious transnational crime including large-scale money laundering including through the Kings Romans Casino and aligned businesses. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has raised concerns several times about Laos being used by organized crime to traffic drugs, precursor chemicals and other illicit commodities, that unregulated border casinos in the Mekong region including Kings Romans are being used to launder money, and that the purchase of the Ban Mom port is a representation of organized crime infiltrating critical infrastructure in the region. The Ban Mom port has been confirmed as a location used for trafficking drugs and precursor chemicals into and out of drug production areas and special regions. The zone can also be easily accessed from Thailand by boat from the pier at the Chiang Saen, Thailand-Laos Border Crossing Immigration Checkpoint at Ban Sop Ruak. Frequent passenger ferry boats operated by the Kings Romans Group run across the Mekong River between the checkpoint and the Sam Liam Kham Checkpoint in the zone. The boats operate between 6.00am and 8.00pm Thailand Standard Time and cost Thai baht 100 per trip, with the journey taking about 10 minutes.
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