Laos

  • Crime NewsThailand’s big, bad meth boom, in the middle of a pandemic | VIDEO

    Thailand’s big, bad meth boom, in the middle of a pandemic | VIDEO

      Caitlin Ashworth reports on Thailand’s burgeoning drug trade and the futile attempts to try and control it. 72 tonnes of a chemical called propionyl chloride arrives in a remote region of Laos. All professionally packaged and loaded ready for shipping. The containers full of the obscure chemical had made their way from Jiangsu, a coastal Chinese province north of…

  • Crime NewsMethamphetamine en route to Hong Kong seized at Bangkok shipping company

    Methamphetamine en route to Hong Kong seized at Bangkok shipping company

    Police arrested 3 suspects and seized 10 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine stuffed in floor mattresses that were being prepared for shipment to Hong Kong. Over the past few months, Thai law enforcement has been cracking down on illegal drug shipments en route to other countries. The Seaport Interdiction Task Force searched a pickup truck shipping company in the Navamin area…

  • Thailand NewsLaos Covid-19 cases rise as migrant workers return from Thailand

    Laos Covid-19 cases rise as migrant workers return from Thailand

    Covid-19 cases in Laos has spiked, reportedly due to migrant workers returning home from Thailand, bringing the virus with them. In Thailand’s latest wave of infections over the past several months, many of the workers had lost their jobs while others returned to their home country to flee from lockdown restrictions at construction camps and factories, primarily in Bangkok. Covid-19…

  • World NewsGolden Triangle Special Economic Zone building airport, crime feared

    Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone building airport, crime feared

    Construction has resumed on a private airport in Laos on the Thai border as part of the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, a casino resort complex considered to be rife with illegal activity. The owner of the development, Zhao Wei, is the chairman of the Dok Ngiew Kham Group and has been named in connection with human trafficking, drugs, money…

  • Covid-19 NewsLao woman rejected while trying to register for Covid-19 vaccine

    Lao woman rejected while trying to register for Covid-19 vaccine

    A formal investigation is being launched after a woman from Laos was refused registration for a Covid-19 vaccine. It’s understood the woman is married to a Thai man and has lived in Thailand for 14 years. The political activist, Srisuwan Janya, has lodged a petition with the Ombudsman, requesting an investigation into the case. According to a Bangkok Post report,…

  • Northern Thailand NewsMarijuana valued at 10 million baht seized in Nakhon Phanom, 2 arrested

    Marijuana valued at 10 million baht seized in Nakhon Phanom, 2 arrested

    Last night in Nakhon Phanom, a northeastern province close to the Laos border, a navy patrol arrested 2 men and seized 520 kilogrammes of compressed and dried marijuana. The men were travelling by pickup truck. The deputy commander of Nakhon Phanom Mekon Riverine Unit, Nathapat Suemongkol, says the truck was stopped by a patrol on the Phanom-Mukdahan road. He did…

  • World NewsLarge-scale methamphetamine production emerges in Cambodia during pandemic

    Large-scale methamphetamine production emerges in Cambodia during pandemic

    During the pandemic, Cambodia has become a major base for the large-scale production of methamphetamine as drug traffickers workaround Covid-19 restrictions, according to the United Nations. Last year, during the pandemic, 170 tonnes of methamphetamine were seized by authorities in Asia, a 19% increase from the year prior, according to a report by the UN Office of Drugs and Crime.…

  • World NewsAustralian government provides grant to cover 1 million vaccine doses in Laos

    Australian government provides grant to cover 1 million vaccine doses in Laos

    To help the mass rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in Laos, the Australian government is providing a 15.2 million AUD grant to cover around 1 million vaccine doses in the Southeast Asian country. The grant also covers training for healthcare workers on how to safely administer the vaccines. Laos reported a spike in cases over the past month, after a year…

  • World NewsThailand donates cash, equipment to Laos to help combat Covid-19 outbreak

    Thailand donates cash, equipment to Laos to help combat Covid-19 outbreak

    With Laos, just north of Thailand, under lockdown measures to control a spike of Covid-19 infections, the Royal Thai Embassy to Laos helping the country combat the outbreak and has donated cash and materials valued altogether at more than 16 million baht. While cases have remained low in Laos since the start of the pandemic last year with active cases…

  • World NewsLaos prime minister orders an extension on lockdown measures

    Laos prime minister orders an extension on lockdown measures

    While the majority of countries across the globe have been grappling with Covid-19 outbreaks for the past year, Laos, just North of Thailand, has only reported 1,177 cases with the vast majority of the infections detected over the past month. Laos PM Phankhan Viphavanh says ordered an extension on lockdown measures, now until May 20, saying it is essential in…

  • World NewsFormer Norwegian minister warns against travel to Thailand due to fugitive murder suspect

    Former Norwegian minister warns against travel to Thailand due to fugitive murder suspect

    A former Norweigan justice minister is calling on the country to boycott holiday trips to Thailand due to reports that a man wanted for allegedly killing a Norwegian woman in Laos is now living in Thailand. The former minister, Per-Willy Amundsen, calls the situation of the murder suspect on the run and living free in Thailand a “complete scandal.” “If…

  • World NewsDouble truck driver bust yields 2.2 million meth pills, 165 grams of marijuana

    Double truck driver bust yields 2.2 million meth pills, 165 grams of marijuana

    Two truck drivers were arrested in a massive double bust where police seized a total of 2.2 million methamphetamine pills and 165 grams of dried marijuana. One truck full of meth was caught in the Nong Khai province on the Laos border, while the other driver was apprehended in Chon Buri province. Banglamung Police announced the arrest yesterday while working…

  • World NewsPolice arrest 2 Lao men, seize 550 kilograms of methamphetamine at Mekong River bank

    Police arrest 2 Lao men, seize 550 kilograms of methamphetamine at Mekong River bank

    In another drug bust by the Mekong River, police seized 550 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine valued at around 275 million baht. Methamphetamine trafficking across the river from Laos to Thailand has spiked since the Myanmar coup. Many militant groups in Myanmar border towns rely on synthetic drug production as a main source of income. With tightened patrol along the Thai-Myanmar…

  • World NewsDrug trafficking in Thailand spikes following Myanmar coup, volunteers keep close eye on border

    Drug trafficking in Thailand spikes following Myanmar coup, volunteers keep close eye on border

    Thailand has faced a spike in methamphetamine trafficking across the Mekong River following the military coup in neighbouring Myanmar. Local volunteers along the river are now helping out to identify potential drug smugglers disguised as fishermen. The volunteers tip off police when they see suspicious activity since they can’t make arrests and confronting a drug trafficker could be dangerous. One…

  • Crime NewsMekong drug bust: methamphetamine seizure valued at 20 million baht

    Mekong drug bust: methamphetamine seizure valued at 20 million baht

    A sack of methamphetamine tablets, valued around 20 million baht, smuggled in tea packets, was seized along the bank of the Mekong River in north-east Thailand, a notorious drug trafficking route. A longtail boat pulled up to the shore of the Isaan province Mukdahan around 3am yesterday and the driver threw the sack onto the riverbank. Rangers and police, who…

  • World NewsFurious pageant fans accuse Laos of copying Thai contestant’s fishy costume

    Furious pageant fans accuse Laos of copying Thai contestant’s fishy costume

    Beauty pageant fans in Thailand are furious about a move by neighbouring Laos that could create a major diplomatic incident between the 2 countries. Supporters of Miss Universe Thailand, Amanda Obdam, say Miss Laos, Phatthana Khidaphone, has stolen Obdam’s costume idea and plans to wear it at an earlier pageant in Bangkok this week. According to a Coconuts report, the…

  • Thailand NewsThailand News Today | Pyramid scammer arrested, first vaccines arrive next week | February 16

    Thailand News Today | Pyramid scammer arrested, first vaccines arrive next week | February 16

    A 45 year old Thai woman, known as Jay Phet, has been arrested, along with several Burmese accomplices and nearly 400 of the trafficked migrants. She was arrested for acquiring illegal Burmese migrants, getting them over the border… undetected, and then sending them to the Central Seafood Markets along the coast of Samut Sakhon province, just south west of Bangkok.…

  • Thailand NewsMore than 600,000 migrants registered with Labour Ministry over the past month

    More than 600,000 migrants registered with Labour Ministry over the past month

    More than 600,000 migrant workers have registered with the Thailand Labour Ministry over the past month. Late last year, the Thai government announced migrants from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar would be granted a 2-year work permit and health insurance. Registration with the ministry’s Department of Employment was open from January 15 until February 13. The move follows the Covid-19 outbreak…

  • Thailand NewsTower of Babble, commenting about your comments – Tuesday, January 19 | VIDEO

    Tower of Babble, commenting about your comments – Tuesday, January 19 | VIDEO

    Tower of Babble is where we read some of your comments made on The Thaiger YouTube videos, as well as our website thethaiger.com and Facebook page. Some are insightful, some are interesting, some need to be shared! And some are just plain funny. If you leave a comment under any of our videos it may be shared on our Tower…

  • Thailand NewsCabinet members eat seafood lunch to prove it’s not contaminated with Covid-19

    Cabinet members eat seafood lunch to prove it’s not contaminated with Covid-19

    After the Laos government banned seafood imports from Thailand due to the Covid-19 outbreak at a Samut Sakhon fishing hub, Thai officials are assuring the neighbouring country that Thai seafood is not contaminated with the coronavirus. In what seems like a publicity stunt, members of the Thai Cabinet ate 7 seafood dishes for lunch yesterday to prove that Covid-19 cannot…

  • Thailand NewsLaos temporarily bans seafood from Thailand after Covid-19 outbreak

    Laos temporarily bans seafood from Thailand after Covid-19 outbreak

    Following a Covid-19 outbreak at a major fishing hub in Thailand, neighbouring Laos has banned seafood imports from the Kingdom due to fears that the seafood could be contaminated with the virus. More than 1,200 people in Samut Sakhon have tested positive for the coronavirus, with cases concentrated around a seafood market in Mahachai and largely affecting the migrant population in…

  • Thailand NewsThailand News Today | Bangkok air pollution, 28 Covid cases, Lao dam protest | December 14

    Thailand News Today | Bangkok air pollution, 28 Covid cases, Lao dam protest | December 14

    Bangkok starts the new week with ‘unhealthy’ air quality Waking up in Bangkok today you would have been surprised that the sun had disappeared to be replaced by a grey sky and views across the city limited to less than a kilometre. Across the city the air quality readings for most of the day have been aver the 150 mark…

  • Environment NewsLaos – the ‘battery’ of Asia and a ticking environmental time bomb

    Laos – the ‘battery’ of Asia and a ticking environmental time bomb

    LAOS POWER FACTS: Number of power plants soon to be completed by the end of 2020: 53 hydropower plants under construction or in the planning stage, including those set to be completed this year; there will be more than 90 hydropower plants in Laos with a combined installed capacity of almost 14,000MW. Transmission lines that connect with neighbouring countries: 14 carry power to…

  • Thailand NewsThailand News Today | Deadly floods, Chiang Rai Covid cases, Mekong Forum | December 7

    Thailand News Today | Deadly floods, Chiang Rai Covid cases, Mekong Forum | December 7

    Southern Thailand flood death toll: 24 At least 24 people have now been reported to have died due to flash floods in Southern Thailand following a week of heavy rain. 19 of the victims were in Nakhon Si Thammarat which was hit the hardest. Today, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reported 3 more deaths from flooding in the…

  • Northern Thailand News480 kilograms of marijuana seized on Laos border

    480 kilograms of marijuana seized on Laos border

    Police have seized 480 kilograms of, what they say is, “high-grade” marijuana in northeastern Thailand in a routine roadside search. The search was conducted near the border in Nakhon Phanom province. Police say the smugglers were looking for alternate routes now that the roads and traditional border crossings from Myanmar and Laos had been closed. 25 year old Likit Boonprasit…

  • World NewsHalf a tonne of high grade compressed marijuana seized in NE Thailand

    Half a tonne of high grade compressed marijuana seized in NE Thailand

    Thai border police have seized half a tonne of “high grade marijuana” Nakhon Phanom province, north east Thailand, saying a border with Laos and the Mekong River. Border police announced the seizure of 480 kilograms of marijuana during a routine roadside search. Police announced that a car was intercepted on a road near Ban Khok Sawang. The driver, 25 year old…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Today | State of Emergency lifted, Quarantine latest, Phuket Light Rail | October 22

    Thailand News Today | State of Emergency lifted, Quarantine latest, Phuket Light Rail | October 22

    Today’s latest news and information about Thailand. Like and subscribe to our YouTube channel too. Go on, right now 🙂 You can also LIKE our Facebook page https://facebook.com/thethaigernews to get even more information about Thailand. Government lifts Bangkok’s State of Emergency Bangkok’s State of Emergency has been lifted, according to a statement published in the Royal Gazette, making it official.…

  • Covid-19 News8 new cases of Covid reported today, all asymptomatic and in quarantine

    8 new cases of Covid reported today, all asymptomatic and in quarantine

    Thailand officials have reported 8 new Covid-19 cases from 5 different countries today, with all cases being asymptomatic and in discovered whilst the recently arrived passengers were in quarantine. The new cases were from Russia, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, the US, and India. The 35 year old Indian man was on the same flight as 8 previously confirmed cases and…

  • Thailand NewsUS accuses Chinese companies of exploitation along the Mekong River

    US accuses Chinese companies of exploitation along the Mekong River

    The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is accusing Chinese companies of “exploitative practices” in the Mekong River region after a new partnership has been launched to combat “transnational crimes”. Pompeo named the China Communications Construction Company as one of the big offenders and says the Chinese Communist Party is responsible for the increase in human, wildlife and drug trafficking…

  • World NewsPolice arrest 14 Laotian migrants for allegedly crossing the border

    Police arrest 14 Laotian migrants for allegedly crossing the border

    Border patrol police arrested 14 Laotian migrants who allegedly crossed the Thai-Laos border into Ubon Ratchathani. The arrests come after orders to tighten border security in fear that illegal migrants might carry the coronavirus. Police got a call that a white Toyota van looked suspicious and appeared to be carrying migrants from the border. Officers tracked down the van and found…