Laos has arrested at least 6,200 suspects in cybercrime and online scam operations since the start of 2026, as authorities carry out an intensifying nationwide crackdown that has swept across the country.
Most recently, authorities detained 139 suspects during the last weekend of August in raids on two properties in Xaysettha district, and reported the arrests on 31 August. Police detained 114 suspects at the Manggrove Hotel and a further 25 at the Glory Residents.
Authorities confiscated hundreds of electronic devices, communication tools, and illicit substances as investigations continue to target the ringleaders.
That raid capped a month in which police accounted for nearly 900 arrests nationwide, spanning at least 12 locations across five districts and provinces, including Sikhottabong, Xaysettha, Hatsayfong, Chanthabouly, and Vang Vieng in Vientiane Province, as well as Paklay district in Xayabouly Province.
Suspects detained during the month included at least seven nationalities, with Chinese nationals making up the largest group in nearly every raid.
Earlier Operations
The single largest operation of the year came earlier, on 18 July, when police raided the ST Vegas building in Hatsayfong district and arrested 589 people, most of them Thai nationals.
In August, police carried out the month’s biggest raid on 8 August, dismantling a telecommunications fraud and gambling ring in the Thatluang Lake Special Economic Zone and detaining 261 suspects.
Beyond these individual raids, Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone told the National Assembly in early July that authorities had arrested nearly 4,500 suspects from 25 nationalities during the first half of the year.
Official reports subsequently put the July tally at approximately 1,000 additional arrests.
Taken together, these figures bring the running total for the year to at least 6,200 suspects.
Authorities continue to interrogate detainees to trace the masterminds behind the networks, though officials have yet to name any ringleader captured so far.
