Disclaimer: This article contains content that may not be suitable for younger students.

Deep in the mountainous region between Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and China, there is a flourishing criminal enterprise that is almost never talked about. The stories and testimonies that have surfaced surrounding this area, known as the “Golden Triangle” give a look into Southeast Asia’s dark criminal underworld. 

The “Golden Triangle” is a region in Southeast Asia that comprises many of the surrounding nations. This region came to prominence during the end of the Vietnam War, when demand for opium increased. The region of mountains and jungles between Laos, Myanmar and Thailand provided ideal conditions for the cultivation of opium. In the 1990’s, upwards of 70% of heroin in the US originated from Southeast Asia. Eradication programs in Laos and China would see opium production stagnate, as its production moved to Afghanistan. 

During this period, Chinese businessman Zhao Wei took residence in Macau, an autonomous region of China, where he invested in the city’s casinos. In 2001, Wei moved to Mong La in Myanmar, and established Landun Entertainment. Wei also established connections with the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), whose leader, Sai Lin, financed casinos around the city. 

In 2005, casinos were shuttered due to Chinese officials gambling state funds. Two years later in 2007, the Laotian government in collaboration with Chinese investors, established the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) These private investors were a Hong Kong company owned by Zhao Wei named the Kings Romans Group. The GTSEZ was under the control of Zhao Wei with a 99-year lease on 3,000 hectares (7,000 acres) of land straddling the border between Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. 

Since the creation of the GTSEZ, the area has been a hotbed of criminal activity. Human and wildlife trafficking, prostitution, bribery, online scamming and drug trade are all too common within this area. Online scams out of Southeast Asia have proved to be a very real problem. According to a Time magazine article, Women were lured by the prospect of employment, and forced to conduct online scams, posing as women and scamming American men out of hundreds of dollars. Failing to meet quotas would result in beatings, electrocution and other cruel punishments. These scams, known as “pig butchering” have cost Americans billions of dollars annually.

The lawless nature of the GTSEZ makes shutting down criminal operations difficult. Another facet is the transnational nature of this zone. China being involved with the GTSEZ, as well as  GTSEZ investments reportedly accounting for 10% of the Lao GDP makes cracking down difficult. And, with the Afghanistan opioid bans in April 2022, its possible opioid production could be reintroduced into the Golden Triangle. It’s all up to government officials, both American and others, to find a solution to this growing threat.