VIENTIANE: Laos has deported 32 Thai nationals following a major police operation at the ST Vegas complex in Vientiane Capital, where authorities detained hundreds of people suspected of involvement in online fraud and illegal gambling.
Lao officials handed the group to Thai authorities on 6 August at the First Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge between Vientiane Capital and Nong Khai, according to Public Security media.
The deportation follows a raid on 18 July at the ST Vegas complex in Dongphosy village, Hatxayfong district.
During the operation, authorities detained 589 people from four nationalities: 373 Thai nationals, 199 Lao nationals, 15 Vietnamese nationals and two Cambodian nationals.
The ST Vegas raid is part of a wider campaign by Lao authorities against scam centres, online gambling and telecommunications fraud, with police carrying out a series of operations in and around Vientiane in recent weeks.
On 1 August, police detained 63 people during coordinated raids in Sikhottabong and Hadxayfong districts. The group included Chinese, Lao, Cambodian and Thai nationals.
Police said the alleged network targeted people in China through call-centre and online fraud schemes.
The crackdown comes as Laos faces growing pressure to tackle organised online crime operating from within the country.
Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone told the National Assembly in July that authorities had arrested more than 4,400 people in cases involving cybercrime, online fraud and illegal gambling during the first six months of 2026.
Authorities have reported further arrests since then, including more than 1,000 people detained in July, although the latest figures could not be independently verified. - Laotian Times
