ກາສາລາວ
2009-08-26 01:10:15 UTC
A stolen car was seized as it was about to be transported across the
Mekong
Lao authorities admit crimes have been on the rise in the capital city
of Vientiane and increasingly violent in nature.
Security officials reveal that, in the past three months alone, they
arrested more than 320 members of various organized crime groups,
adding that since then they were able to make more and more arrests as
a result of their extensive interrogations of suspected criminals who
incriminate fellow gang members. Officials say during a recent 20-day
period, they were able to arrest 192 people involved in more than 160
crimes.
However, the head of the Vientiane Public Security Department, Col.
Bounthieng Chanthamounkhoune, acknowledges that it is impossible for
his men to make quick arrests of the majority of the gang members
because the criminals are heavily armed and confront them with assault
weapons, as in the case of a raid in the That Luang area which
resulted in the loss of one of his men and three seriously wounded by
shrapnels from a bomb thrown at them by the criminals.
Beside robberies, burglaries and thefts, drug smuggling and
trafficking are also
Lao officials burn seized drugs on the rise. In the most recent case,
Vientiane's Wattay Airport authorities seized four kilograms of opium
hidden in a package of soaps and facial creams destined for the United
States.
In a related development, the Lao People's High Court reports that, in
the past year, it has received more than 6,690 indictments against
people suspected in various crime cases, of which 43% are drug-
related.
Public security officials blame the increase in the number of
criminals and the rise in crimes on the current economic situation,
unemployment, and lack of educational opportunity for the majority of
Lao youth, making them vulnerable and easily lured by organized crimes.
Mekong
Lao authorities admit crimes have been on the rise in the capital city
of Vientiane and increasingly violent in nature.
Security officials reveal that, in the past three months alone, they
arrested more than 320 members of various organized crime groups,
adding that since then they were able to make more and more arrests as
a result of their extensive interrogations of suspected criminals who
incriminate fellow gang members. Officials say during a recent 20-day
period, they were able to arrest 192 people involved in more than 160
crimes.
However, the head of the Vientiane Public Security Department, Col.
Bounthieng Chanthamounkhoune, acknowledges that it is impossible for
his men to make quick arrests of the majority of the gang members
because the criminals are heavily armed and confront them with assault
weapons, as in the case of a raid in the That Luang area which
resulted in the loss of one of his men and three seriously wounded by
shrapnels from a bomb thrown at them by the criminals.
Beside robberies, burglaries and thefts, drug smuggling and
trafficking are also
Lao officials burn seized drugs on the rise. In the most recent case,
Vientiane's Wattay Airport authorities seized four kilograms of opium
hidden in a package of soaps and facial creams destined for the United
States.
In a related development, the Lao People's High Court reports that, in
the past year, it has received more than 6,690 indictments against
people suspected in various crime cases, of which 43% are drug-
related.
Public security officials blame the increase in the number of
criminals and the rise in crimes on the current economic situation,
unemployment, and lack of educational opportunity for the majority of
Lao youth, making them vulnerable and easily lured by organized crimes.