Much of the world’s most notable drug trafficking takes place in the Golden Triangle, where the borders of Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar meet. Separated by the winding Mekong River, the area is notorious for its significant cultivation of opium and is commonly considered to be the focal point of the global opium trade.
In 2024, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimated that 30 to 60% of the world’s opium is produced in this area.
In northeastern Laos, within the Golden Triangle, lies a Hong Kong-run casino named King’s Roman.
The US Department of the Treasury states that the King’s Roman Casino “facilitates the storage and distribution of heroin, methamphetamine, and other narcotics for illicit networks.”
Around the world, illegally traded and grown drugs cause economies to collapse, safety to falter, and crime rates to grow. Attacking this issue should start within the Golden Triangle.
In 2007, a 3,000-hectare 99-year lease went into effect through the King’s Roman Group, a corporation run by Zhao Wei and based in Hong Kong. The lease granted the King’s Roman Group the land, and in turn, the company promised to develop the area positively, both economically and environmentally.
The influence of Wei’s ownership of the land permeates his Chinese culture and overall feel of the area – with clocks set to Beijing time, the Chinese yuan advertised as the desired currency, and Chinese as the local lingua franca, as opposed to Lao.
The King’s Roman Group has repeatedly bragged about an imminent “integrated trade and tourism zone,” promising a lavish and opulent society filled with luxury resorts and amenities. Instead, it is filled with illegal trade, immeasurable prostitution, and extreme gambling. The zone’s main attraction is its beloved King’s Roman Casino, built in place of the promised developments.
The King’s Roman organization was placed on the US Treasury sanctions list in 2018 for human trafficking, money laundering, bribery, drug trafficking, and wildlife trafficking. However, Zhao Wei has denied these allegations, claiming there’s no concrete way to back them up.
As a result of Thailand and China tightening their borders with Myanmar, more methamphetamine than ever before is smuggled across the Laotian border.
Jeremy Douglas is the Regional Representative of the UNODC for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. He provides insight into the area’s involvement in drug trafficking.
“The drugs that are manufactured here make it as far as the Pacific, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan, so we see very powerful narcotics on the streets of Sydney or Tokyo that lead to addiction and all the destructive impact they have on individuals, families, and the broader society,” Douglas reported to a 2024 UNODC report on casinos and money laundering, among other things, in the region.
As extreme narcotics are detrimental to users’ health, the King’s Roman area must be properly managed.
Additionally, the UNODC believes that the majority of the Golden Triangle zone began and developed from the profits of laundered drugs, meaning that the exploited earnings are likely already deep within the Laotian and surrounding economies.
Local organizations must take notice of the extreme drug trafficking in the area. With this in mind, Laotian authorities have executed multiple raids on illegal organizations within King’s Roman, including those related to drug trafficking.
Additionally, in 2016, a plan from the Lao Cabinet released its 2016 – 2020 plans for narcotics control.
The plan included “strengthening enforcement of the Law on Narcotics; enhancing the capacity of officials to handle narcotics cases; increasing support from external partners; and expanding anti-drug education efforts, particularly at the local level.”
The UNODC has implemented around 120 regional border liaison offices, which allow law enforcement agencies to take control of the situation through regulations and supervision.
The Laotian government, as well as international organizations, have taken remarkable steps towards combating King’s Roman drug trafficking. However, the region’s corruption, the fabric of drug trading, and economic hardships have made these efforts more complex.
It is necessary to implement holistic efforts to improve drug trafficking in the region. If regulations regarding drug use and commerce become stricter, rehabilitation treatment should also be available in the area to decriminalize the topic. By promoting rehabilitation rather than incarceration, recovery would be encouraged, and the general stigma surrounding addiction would become relaxed.
Furthermore, there should be more opportunities for legal sources of income rather than drug production. The government could offer programs to train people in agriculture or small business creation. The community and area would benefit from sustainable, holistic solutions that assist the general population sustainably and reasonably.