BANGKOK – Laotian police have detained 51 people, including five Japanese nationals, during a raid on a hotel in northern Laos suspected of serving as a base for fraud operations, local media reported on Tuesday.

Police seized 60 computers, 76 mobile phones and other equipment from the site during the raid that took place on July 22 at the hotel in Xiengkhouang Province.

Authorities suspect the group targeted residents in Taiwan through online scams disguised as sales of furniture, home appliances and other consumer goods.

In June, Laotian authorities detained Japanese nationals on suspicion of involvement in a separate fraud ring, amid a string of crackdowns on transnational scam operations.