Lancang-Mekong countries see positive outcomes from joint anti-crime operation

Six Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) countries have achieved fruitful results in combating telecommunication fraud, online gambling, and drugs and human trafficking in 2025.

During the "Safe Lancang-Mekong 2025" joint operation launched in late February last year, law-enforcement agencies from China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam cracked down on 8,012 telecommunication fraud and online gambling cases and arrested 14,047 criminal suspects, according to the Lancang-Mekong Integrated Law Enforcement and Security Cooperation Center (LMLECC).

Additionally, 122,503 drug-related cases were busted, leading to the arrest of 139,956 suspects and the seizure of over 82 tonnes of various drugs along with 169.73 tonnes of precursor chemicals.

Law enforcement officers also cracked down on 1,017 human trafficking cases, capturing 718 suspects and rescuing 1,469 victims.

Officials from the LMC countries met Monday and Tuesday in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, to exchange experiences and discuss further law enforcement and security cooperation.

All parties agreed to continue joint operations to combat telecommunication fraud, the most serious transnational crime in the Lancang-Mekong region.

Established in 2017 in Kunming, the LMLECC serves as a comprehensive intergovernmental international organization for law enforcement and security cooperation in the Lancang-Mekong River basin.