Bangkok, Nov. 10 (Jiji Press)--Authorities have detained 16 Japanese nationals suspected of involvement in fraud schemes in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, according to local media.

The Japanese Embassy in Laos stated that it was checking the facts.

The media reported Monday that investigative authorities searched a rental house in Vientiane last week that was believed to be a base used by a criminal organization and seized 55 mobile phones and four tablet devices.

In recent years, criminal groups involved in fraud schemes have been moving their operations from Cambodia to neighboring countries after Cambodian authorities stepped up their crackdown.

In Laos this year, Japanese nationals have been arrested in a series of crackdowns on suspected involvement in such schemes.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]