{"id":173344,"date":"2021-05-11T15:20:35","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T22:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=173344"},"modified":"2021-05-11T16:02:15","modified_gmt":"2021-05-11T23:02:15","slug":"laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/","title":{"rendered":"Laos COVID-19 Outbreak Could Have Links to \u2018Criminal\u2019 Casino Empire"},"content":{"rendered":"

Laos<\/a> state media has reported a large COVID-19 outbreak in the Tonpheung District of the northeasterly Bokeo Province, home to the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) and the notorious Kings Romans Casino.<\/p>\n

\"Laos
An entrance to the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Laos. (Image: South China Morning Post<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The casino is operated by alleged crime figure Zhao Wei<\/a>, whose business empire was once described by the US Treasury Department as a \u201chorrendous transnational criminal organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to CNN and the state-owned English-language newspaper, The Vientiane Times<\/em>, officials are linking the epidemic to foreigners who are being transported into the region by locals in violation of COVID-19 restrictions.<\/p>\n

The landlocked southeast Asian Communist state closed its borders last year in an effort to halt the spread of the pandemic. But cases have surged in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

‘Local Emperor’<\/h2>\n

The Golden Triangle refers to the area where Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand meet at the confluence of the Mekong and Ruak rivers. The semi-lawless region is one of the largest producers of heroin and methamphetamine in the world.<\/p>\n

Zhao is said to run the GTSEZ like his own private kingdom, where he is known as \u201cTu Haungdi,\u201d a Chinese phrase that means \u201clocal emperor.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the GTSEZ is not mentioned in The Vientiane Times<\/em> story, the Tonpheung District is economically reliant on the zone, its casino, and the foreign tourists they bring.<\/p>\n

One source, described as a former travel agent, told CNN that locals were illegally transporting tourists and Thai casino employees across the Mekong River into Laos from Thailand.<\/p>\n

\n

According to the Treasury Department, Zhao’s operations \u201cfacilitate child prostitution and sex slavery\u201d and \u201cexploits this region by engaging in drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, bribery, and wildlife trafficking, much of which is facilitated through the Kings Romans Casino, located within the GTSEZ.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

He is also involved in \u201cthe storage and distribution of heroin, methamphetamine, and other narcotics for illicit networks, including the United Wa State Army.\u201d The Wa is the largest of many militia groups based in the area, mainly across the border in Myanmar.<\/p>\n

Economic Sanctions<\/h2>\n

The US Government imposed sanctions on Zhao and the Kings Romans Casino in 2018 for their alleged role in the drugs trade and other alleged crimes. This barred Zhao from the US financial system, while any funds he held in US banks would have been frozen.<\/p>\n

CNN reported in December that Zhao was expanding his operations and was in the process of building a port in the GTSEZ, 12 miles upriver from the casino.<\/p>\n

Zhao has denied the US Treasury\u2019s allegations, describing himself a legitimate investor who wants to turn the area into a major tourist destination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Laos state media has reported a large COVID-19 outbreak in the Tonpheung District of the northeasterly Bokeo Province, home to the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) and the notorious Kings Romans Casino. The casino is operated by alleged crime figure Zhao Wei, whose business empire was once described by the US Treasury Department as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":173353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLaos COVID-19 Outbreak Could Have Links to \u2018Criminal\u2019 Casino Empire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Could Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) in Laos Covid outbreak be linked to Zhao Wei's notorious Kings Romans group?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Laos COVID-19 Outbreak Could Have Links to \u2018Criminal\u2019 Casino Empire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Could Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) in Laos Covid outbreak be linked to Zhao Wei's notorious Kings Romans group?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-11T22:20:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-05-11T23:02:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/kingsromans-e.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1278\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/\",\"name\":\"Laos COVID-19 Outbreak Could Have Links to \u2018Criminal\u2019 Casino Empire\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/kingsromans-e.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-11T22:20:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-11T23:02:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Could Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) in Laos Covid outbreak be linked to Zhao Wei's notorious Kings Romans group?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/kingsromans-e.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/kingsromans-e.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1278,\"caption\":\"An entrance to the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Laos. (Image: South China Morning Post)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Laos COVID-19 Outbreak Could Have Links to \u2018Criminal\u2019 Casino Empire\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\",\"name\":\"Philip Conneller\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Philip Conneller\"},\"description\":\"In Philip Conneller\u2019s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Laos COVID-19 Outbreak Could Have Links to \u2018Criminal\u2019 Casino Empire","description":"Could Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) in Laos Covid outbreak be linked to Zhao Wei's notorious Kings Romans group?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Laos COVID-19 Outbreak Could Have Links to \u2018Criminal\u2019 Casino Empire","og_description":"Could Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) in Laos Covid outbreak be linked to Zhao Wei's notorious Kings Romans group?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2021-05-11T22:20:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-05-11T23:02:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1278,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/kingsromans-e.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Philip Conneller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@casinoorgphilc","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Philip Conneller","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/","name":"Laos COVID-19 Outbreak Could Have Links to \u2018Criminal\u2019 Casino Empire","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/kingsromans-e.jpg","datePublished":"2021-05-11T22:20:35+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-11T23:02:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b"},"description":"Could Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) in Laos Covid outbreak be linked to Zhao Wei's notorious Kings Romans group?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/kingsromans-e.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/kingsromans-e.jpg","width":1920,"height":1278,"caption":"An entrance to the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Laos. (Image: South China Morning Post)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/laos-covid-19-outbreak-could-have-links-to-criminal-casino-empire\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Laos COVID-19 Outbreak Could Have Links to \u2018Criminal\u2019 Casino Empire"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b","name":"Philip Conneller","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png","caption":"Philip Conneller"},"description":"In Philip Conneller\u2019s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk","https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173344"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}