Zhao Wei (gangster)

In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhao.

Zhao Wei is a Chinese gangster currently under sanctions by the United States Treasury Department for his involvement in laundering money and assisting in the storage and distribution of heroin, methamphetamine, and other narcotics for illicit networks, including the United Wa State Army, operating in Myanmar. Based in Laos within the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ), the Zhao Wei transnational crime organization is also reported to engage in human trafficking, bribery, and wildlife trafficking. Much of this illicit activity is facilitated through the Kings Romans Casino located within the GTSEZ.

Zhao has reportedly negotiated a 99-year lease with the government of Lao PDR to operate the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone which lies along the Mekong River that flows between Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. In early October 2020, a $50 million dollar investment to build a port in the Laotian town of Ban Mom, directly north of the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, was made by Osiano Trading Sole Co., a partner or front company of Zhao Wei and his organization. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has raised concerns several times about Lao PDR being used by organized crime to traffic drugs, precursor chemicals and other illicit commodities, and that the purchase of the Ban Mom port is a representation of organized crime infiltrating critical infrastructure in the region. The Ban Mom port is the only official loading and unloading port north of Chiang Saen Thailand before the next port in Mongla Special Region 4 of Myanmar, and has been confirmed as a frequent transshipment point for trafficking drugs and precursor chemicals into and out of the Golden Triangle.