You are contributing to debate and discussion, and helping to make this website a more open place. The triad is sort of like the Chinese version of the mafiaan organized crime unit that operates under specific traditions and rules. [1] There appears to be no solid evidence of significant organised, ethnic-Chinese, street gang activity, although it is difficult to be sure as there are many media reports that refer simply to 'Asian' gangs.[2]. READ: Asia's Most Wanted Drug Lord - Profile of Triad boss Tse Chi Lop, nicknamed "Brother Number Three" When Chan first joined the Triad, he became heavily involved in the drug trade and night club scene in Tsim Sha Tsui. 14K (triad) The 14K (K) is a triad group based in Hong Kong but active internationally. avalanche lost father, brother-in-law, family friend in slide, Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murder of wife, son, Trudeau says probes into foreign election interference ongoing, Heated debate in B.C. However, authorities believe that Belgium now plays an equally important role; heroin laboratories that were discovered in the Netherlands have been reassembled in Flanders, with strong bases in Brussels and Antwerp. A strawman or stand-in buyer then purchases a luxury home or condo at a much higher reported price than the one paid by the Triad member, who makes a bigger profit. The triads also developed highly ritualized initiation ceremonies meant to instill a strong sense of secrecy, and more importantly, loyalty to other triad members. San Francisco and Chicago in the United States; Vancouver, Calgary and . The 14K is engaged in large-scale drug trafficking around the world. These groups involve themselves in a wide range of criminal activities such as drug importation and distribution, extortion, fraud and money laundering. In the second stage, international brokers in the region arrange the sale, consolidation and movement of large heroin shipments from refineries in Burma through Thailand to transshipment points elsewhere in Asia. After Mao eventually ordered a crackdown on the Red Guards using the . We will not publish comments that link to outside websites. Indeed, it may be overstating things to regard them as enduring entities at all. at the barrier and elsewhere in Australia) for 1993 also show the dominance of Sydney: of the 115.8 kg of heroin seized, 90 kg was seized in New South Wales. [33]. 's 2023 budget, 'Gross abuse of a position of trust:' B.C. [48]"Triads linked to Australia", West Australian, 7 September 1994, p. 4. Those assets, also sanctioned, include a butcher shop, clothing store, real estate firm and land holding business. [20], The 14K is among the leading triads in France, where it has cooperated with Turkish, Albanian and Nigerian crime groups in heroin trafficking.[21]. [34] Another criminologist, Ian Dobinson, offered a similar view of the role of the triads in ethnic-Chinese organised heroin trafficking. CNN has reached out to the Chinese government for comment on the Treasurys assertions regarding BRI projects. [49] There is more recent evidence that suggests that the Vietnamese are no longer so ready to adopt subordinate roles. Evidence from wiretaps and police investigations was not able to be released at the time that Lai arrived in Canada and was the target of an assassination attempt by gang rivals, says the report. Lee "Paper Fan The Hunt for Triad Gangster Steven Wong" de Terry Gould disponible en Rakuten Kobo. [11]G. Wardlaw, D. McDowell and J. Schmidt, Australia's Illegal Drug Problem: A Strategic Intelligence Assessment, (A paper prepared by The Criminal Environment Assessment Unit), April 1991, Attorney-General's Department, Canberra, para. 4.44 It seems that the economic boom in China, especially the part nearest Hong Kong, combined with greater economic freedom in China, have presented attractive opportunities for Hong Kong-based organised criminals. 4.22 An overview of the south-east Asian heroin trade was given to that subcommittee by a witness from the Central Intelligence Agency. Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1993), p. 29. The government would then create the Triad Societies Bureau in order to assist law enforcement in combating triad activities. The laundering scheme included converting Russian rubles to U.S. currency, transferring millions a day to a shell company in London, and using more than sixty other shell companies and off-shore havens for hiding money, such as the Seychelles and the Marshall Islands. 4.3 A 1991 assessment for the Commonwealth Government stated: In terms of what might be termed 'mainstream' importation of heroin to meet Australian market demand, the principal source region (in terms of regularity of supply) is South-East Asia. [6][13], During the 1956 riots, the 14K Triad confronted the colonial government at the time. [25]See for example R.J. Kelly, Ko-Lin Chin and J.A. Ayob said an investigation revealed that Liow was close to Wan Kuok Koi (commonly known as Broken Tooth), the leader of 14K Triad - one of the largest Chinese organized crime gangs in the world . Although hierarchical in nature, triads tend not to be strictly controlled from the top, in contrast to more familiar crime groups such as La Cosa Nostra. They are the main rival of the Sun Yee On, which is the largest triad. In recent years in Australia, loosely-organised, syndicates appear to have been the predominant form in which Chinese organised crime has manifested itself. The activity ascribed to Wan by the Treasury statement, particularly in Cambodia, resembles that of another alleged Chinese crime boss, Zhao Wei. Szeto Yuk Lin is widely reported to have a close relationship with Wan Kwok-koi, or Broken Tooth Koi, an infamous leader of Macau's 14K triad who is wanted in Malaysia and reportedly in hiding. [15] Media reports in 1988 claimed that Australian triad societies had perhaps 2,000 members. Later in the statement (p. 83) the term "multi-ethnic Asian drug trafficking organizations" is expanded: These groups are often comprised of Chinese, Thai and other Asian criminals, who frequently use their current or past membership in Triads, criminally-influenced Tongs, or gangs to facilitate their activities. The 14K Triad, including over 30 subgroups, is also believed to have over 20,000 Hong Kong members. It is alarming to know that Greater Vancouver has also acted as a laundromat for foreign organized crime, including a Mexican cartel, Iranian and mainland Chinese organized crime, all seeking a safe and effective locale in which to wash their proceeds of crime, German wrote in his report, as quoted by The Canadian Press. Nonetheless, the Committee found this approach by the Review somewhat puzzling, given the preponderant view (set out above) that concentration on triad societies and membership in them is of only limited value in understand and tackling ethnic-Chinese organised criminal activity. But that was not the case, say documents filed with the court. [38] In listing the criminal groups and activities upon which it thought the National Crime Authority should focus, the Review Report listed 'Chinese Triad Societies' rather than using an expression such as 'Chinese organised crime groups'. Of that, the criminals invested $4 billion in real estate . According to the US Treasury, the BRI also has links to organized crime. A woman dubbed a homemaker paid $3 million for 12 houses in the citys downtown from 2004 to 2007, and those are now worth $11 million. [37], The 14K has a presence in New York, California, Chicago, Boston and Houston. The sanctions against Wan are part of a wider effort against worldwide corruption, as part of International Anti-Corruption Day. . From Oct. 15, 2002 to Nov. 8, 2006, investigators tracked 49 separate electronic funds transfers. Azerbaijans part of the Danske bank secret money transfers is known as the Azerbaijan Laundromat. From 2012 to 2014, $3 billion from the nations capital city Baku made its way to Danske in Estonia and then to four shell companies. On the other hand, on the occasion of traditional Chinese holidays such as Chinese New Year, triad members traditionally give gifts to their 'big brother' or 'uncles' who often are office bearers in the triads.". The gamblers, in a classic money-laundering ruse, wash these loans by cashing in the chips and using the money to acquire expensive housing. 4.41 On the other hand, another recent media report cited an unnamed 'senior Perth academic' as saying that the Vietnamese and Chinese had been fighting for dominance in the Perth heroin market. Triad membership facilitates criminal activities in a manner similar to the way membership in business associations facilitates the activities of a legitimate businessman. Born in the Portuguese colony of Macao, Wan rose through the ranks of the triad to become one of the territorys most powerful crime bosses, waging a bloody war against rival gangs, with bombings, shootings and stabbings a regular occurrence. On Asian organised crime, the statement does not refer to triad societies at all, but defines the groups as follows: Asian Criminal Enterprises - the groups which pose the greatest threats are: They often have business connections with the Asian organized crime groups who dominate the wholesale business. Seven of his associates received lesser sentences. The World Hongmen History and Culture Association has managed to co-opt elite figures in Malaysia and Cambodia. 4.17 In 1988, the leaders of a non-criminal triad, the Melbourne-based Mun Ji Dong (MJD), which began life on the Victorian goldfields in the middle of the last century, presented their view on possible criminal triad presence in Australia. Get started for FREE Continue. They are the main rivals of Sun Yee On and both have been subject to violent clashes throughout their history. [32]NCA, Shamrock Report, April 1991 quoted in a paper by the NCA Intelligence Branch, Progress Report to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority on the Chinese Organised Crime National Initiative, December 1992, para. The Triad structure is loose and not at all like the Italian mafia or the Yakuza. Many of these people move with comparative ease between Australia, Hong Kong and elsewhere in South East Asia. A Warner Bros. police intercepted a phone call concerning a contract hit on Lai, prior to a drive-by shooting at his home in 1997. Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1994), p. 7. Lai's membership in the Shui Fung is lifelong, says the report, "even if he is not active in criminality in Canada.". [14], In 1997, there were a number of gang-related attacks that left 14 people dead. On May 15, John Horgan, British Columbias premier, announced the start of an independent public inquiry into money laundering in the province. They may be no more than a reflection of the view set out above - that much that might be attributed to triad activity is more accurately seen as the work of temporary syndicates and networking by individuals. Hong Kong triads, including the 14K, have also expanded their activities in mainland China; a key motivation for members to cross into China is to avoid police security and anti-gang crackdowns in Hong Kong. The buyers are frequently connected with Chinese or other international organized crime groups. [56], Phone 02 6277 3565; Preference is given to commenters who use real names. Also known as Tiandihui, or the Heaven and Earth Society, the Hongmen is a fraternal organization dating to the mid-1600s, with footholds around the world. He arrived in Vancouver on October 20 and moved into a 750,000 dollar luxury home in east Vancouver. 4.2 The priority interest of Australian agencies has been in relation to organised, ethnic-Chinese, involvement in heroin trafficking into Australia from south-east Asia. In Queens, he oversaw heroin dealing, illegal gambling, a luxury car-theft ring, extortion rackets and immigrant smuggling. Triad societies all display some degree of hierarchy, and a typical triad has members organized by rank. Rather, it is to argue that they are not organized in the sense of large hierarchical syndicates inexorably linked to various triads. Tens of thousands of people die in these cities every year, from drug overdoses of illegal fentanyl, opium, heroin, ecstasy, and methamphetamines imported from Burma, through Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Macau, Hong Kong, and China, by violent Triad gangs like the Big Circle Boys, Shui Fong, and 14K. It is the second largest triad group in the world with around 20,000 members split into thirty subgroups. The leader of a triad is known as the 'Dragon Head,' and carries the rank '489'. He noted that 'law enforcement in Hong Kong appears to hold the view that small groups are involved and that there are no significant triad links'. TRIAD HIERARCHY: In a Triad society each rank has its own specific number. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. More of it came through Canadas Ontario, Alberta and Prairie provinces than in British Columbia. He was arrested after having a 'contract' put on him by a rival Triad group known as the 14k Triad, evidence which police gathered from a wire-taped phone conversation. [49]Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority, in camera Hansard, 3 June 1988, p. 578. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the elders past, present and emerging. Dog shocked by electricity on mall sidewalk. The 14K was formed by Kuomintang Lieutenant-General Kot Siu-wong in Guangzhou, China in 1945 as an anti-Communist action group. The conflict was his main reason for wanting to take his family and flee. In 2018, Global News Canada reported that Chinese organised crime had laundered around $5 billion through Vancouver property between . [48] However, the Committee is not aware of other evidence for the emergence of this threat. He was jailed in November 1999 on a host of charges, shortly before the colony was handed over to China. Lai first applied for permanent residence in February 1994, an application that was referred for enhanced criminal checks because of his membership in a triad organization, say the court documents. Police thought that the entire shipment was destined for Sydney and was organised by a Sydney-based group with links to Hong Kong and Canada. [27] On 3 June 2003, alleged 14K member You Yi He, who was the subject of a police investigation into people-smuggling at the time of his death, was shot and killed in London's Chinatown. 67-68 (Evidence of D. Cohen, Associate Deputy Director for Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency). [26]"Cut out the theatrics, 'good' Triad tells police", Australian, 19 November 1988, p. 4. Two others sanctioned were Victor Francisco Beltran Garcia, a lawyer in Guadalajara who allegedly facilitated corrupt acts with the cartels, and Ulises Jovani Gonzales Valencias wife, Ana Paulina Barajas Sahd, who aided her husband. Yet the US government's underworld accusation against Wan perhaps most clearly points to his involvement in Shwe Kokko, where he has invested untold millions of dollars in the local casino industry and related enterprises through the Hong Kong-based Dongmei Group. The leader of a Macau Triad has lost his latest bid to remain in Canada. 4.21 From a United States' perspective, the 1992 United States Senate subcommittee report previously referred to stated: neither triads, tongs nor gangs appear to be currently involved, as organizations, in heroin trafficking. 14K and Shui-Fung reach into Vancouver . There are media reports of increased triad activity in China, especially in the coastal areas, and in November 1994 China's Justice Minister said that the re-emergence of the triads in China was posing a serious threat to its social stability. The agency placed sanctions on members of Castanedas family his wife, adult daughter and son who hold some of his assets in their names. [35]I. Dobinson, "Pinning a Tail on the Dragon: The Chinese and the International Heroin Trade", Crime & Delinquency, vol. Want to discuss? Moreover, Australian residents who were Triad members in Hong Kong or other foreign countries have immediate access to a range of colleagues overseas who may be prepared to assist with criminal activities. [6], While Hong Kong's 14K triad gang dominates its traditional areas of operation and has expanded far beyond the former British colony, its focus remains Sinocentric. In other words, this view suggests that Australian triads have little enduring strength, continuity of power, or inherent organisation. 05:30, 13 SEP 2020. International activities include narcotics trafficking, money laundering, counterfeiting currency and credit cards, and alien smuggling. Steven Wong was head of the Gum Wah Gang, suspected of heroin trafficking, 14K Triad status and bloody murder in the streets of Vancouver. [20], New Zealand police have stated that the 14K is the most powerful Asian crime syndicate operating in the country, where they are involved in the importation of pseudoephedrine (a chemical precursor in the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine) from Hong Kong and mainland China which they sell to local drug trafficking gangs, the Head Hunters and the Hells Angels. It is the second largest triad group in the world with around 20,000 members split into thirty subgroups. [52]"CJC probes ethnic links to cocaine, heroin", The Weekend Australian, 1-2 January 1994, p. 3. [5]. Johnny Kon, a former Big Circle associate and convicted heroin smuggler, testified that he helped organize a group of Big Circle Gang members into a tightly organized and disciplined group known as the Flaming Eagles which expanded from jewelry store robberies in Hong Kong to a world wide heroin distribution network. Chow was convicted of the first-degree murder in February 2001 in an unrelated case . Is an alleged drug kingpin from China investing millions in a port in Laos? While members of these groups frequently utilize their membership to benefit their heroin trafficking enterprises, the groups themselves are not typically part of the heroin smuggling. However the standard of proof in an immigration matter is less than in a criminal court, it notes, and immigration officials point to a report from FINTRAC -- Canada's financial intelligence agency -- to contend there are reasonable grounds to believe Lai "was or is" involved in money laundering activities. The relationships among individual triad members are based on ties between 'Dai-Lo's' (big brothers) and 'Sai-Lo's' (little brothers), where the Sai-Lo's give loyalty, support and sometimes money to their Dai-Lo, in exchange for protection and advice. 4.10 The Director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency told a United States Senate committee in April 1994: These triads are fluid associations of criminals and quasi-legitimate businessmen based on contact networks and cultural, geographic and linguistic ties. 4.29 Too much, perhaps, should not be read into the expression used. 'I think we'd have spotted them (established Triad crime gangs) if they were around, but we haven't seen anything to suggest they've established themselves here,' said Mr Edmond Louey, a vice-secretary of the MJD. [39], In August 2008, the 14K was allegedly involved in a high-profile kidnapping of a Chinese family near Papatoetoe, Auckland. Chan described the . 4.36 The Western Australia Police Deputy Commissioner, Mr Les Ayton, was recently reported as saying: 'An emerging threat is the cooperation that is developing between Chinese and Italian organised groups (that are) complementing each other with their knowledge of importation practices and distribution networks'. Det. [28][29] The 14K has also battled Wo Shing Wo for control of rackets in Glasgow. [20]"The Asian Connection" The Bulletin, 2 April 1991, pp. More recently, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) stated: 'Some 80% of the heroin seized in Australia can be sourced to the Golden Triangle'[4] - that is, to the area in south-east Asia where Burma, Thailand and Laos meet. The RHKP [Royal Hong Kong Police] estimate that there are currently about 50 triad societies in Hong Kong, with about 15 of those being very active. 3-6, 10-11. US law enforcement alleges that Broken Tooth has embedded his criminal operations and investments into Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative. James Fisher, a former gang expert for the Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada and now a member of British Columbias joint Counter-Exploitation Unit, said the dispute was playing out on the streets of Macau in 1996, when Lai Tong Sang arrived in Canada with his family. The point of conflict was who would control the VIP rooms and the control of the VIP rooms was important because it would give access to profit through criminal enterprises, Fisher testified. [6] According to a media report based on a leaked 1992 national intelligence assessment, 85 to 90 per cent of heroin imports into Australia were organised by Chinese organised crime groups. His wife, two daughters and son were granted permission to be absent. However, other sources[1][12] say 14 stands for the road number of a former headquarters and K stands for Kowloon. The United States government has placed sanctions on Wan Kuok-koi, a notorious gangster and triad boss known as "Broken Tooth.". The Treasury Department also sanctioned two of Gutierrezs siblings, Ekira Gonzales Valencia and Ulises Jovani Gonzales Valencia, for their assistance in bribing government officials and laundering money for the two cartels. 4.20 As far as the Committee can discern, there is an increasing tendency to play down the relevance of triad links. Hong Kong-based counterfeiting rings were responsible for as much as 40 percent of the total worldwide counterfeit credit card losses of about $200 million in 1991. The 14K Triad, including over 30 subgroups, is also believed to have over 20,000 Hong Kong members. Wei Seng "Paul . Although the criminal activities of triad members can be thought of as constituting both domestic and international activities, even domestic activities such as illegal gambling, extortion, and prostitution often have an international element. research, A Vancouver woman whose son saved lives by donating his organs now needs a transplant, B.C. Probes into that huge operation are underway in the United States, the U.K., France, and Estonia. Victoria signed onto a framework on the BRI in 2019. This continues a pattern of overseas Chinese actors trying to paper over illegal criminal activities by framing their actions in terms of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the China Dream, or other major initiatives of the CCP, the Treasury statement said using the acronym for the Chinese Communist Party. The 14K (K) is a triad group based in Hong Kong but active internationally. [46] According to media reports, police believed the heroin originated in the Golden Triangle. The power of individuals in these Australian Triad groups seems to be based on accumulated wealth, connections or demonstrated capacity for criminal enterprise rather than on traditional Triad power bases. appreciated. Despite his plans to move away from Macau, he apparently held enough sway among the troops. CNNs Joshua Berlinger contributed reporting. VANCOUVER An accused triad leader from Macau laundered millions of dollars of dirty money in Canada as immigration officials waited over a decade for access to police wiretap information that allowed them to move to have him deported, court documents show. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. They were soon followed by other families like Sun Yee On (the largest syndicate), as well as other groups like 14K. Whether he will survive as long in Macau as he did in Canada is anyones guess, but it is certain he will not be relaxing at the local casinos anytime soon. Snowfall warning issued for parts of Metro Vancouver, Artificial intelligence used to predict cancer patient survival 'more accurately': B.C. Interestingly, police caught the whole thing on wiretap. [56]"Crackdown urged on rising organised crime", South China Morning Post 29 November 1994, p. 16. . From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. They want to eliminate the Sun On Yee and take their underworld superiority. The United Bamboo Gang has an estimated membership of over 20,000. The department ordered injunctions on six businesses in the Jalisco area in Guadalajara cited as fronts for Gaytan, including two architectural-real estate firms, an organic products company and a womans clothing shop. In 2008, building on extensive literature and interview data, Alex . My knowledge was that Shui Fung members were involved in violent confrontations with 14K members and were being investigated for offences that ranged from assault to homicide, Fisher said. All of these groups also have substantial overseas membership. Tony Lee, allegedly a high-ranking member of the 14K's Cork branch, was killed along with Michael Tsin of the rival Dublin faction. Garda also reported a great deal of interaction between the Chinese gangs operating in Ireland and Scotland. The NCA's intelligence shows that some criminal groups in Australia have Triad members. All the fighting created newspaper headlines and authorities referred his application for enhanced criminal checks, after which he withdrew his application. 4.18 There has in recent years apparently been some difference of opinion among law enforcement agencies in Australia and overseas about how important triads are to understanding and tackling Chinese organised criminal activity. Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1993), pp. [51]. In September 1994 an operation involving the AFP and other agencies resulted in the seizure of 37.5 kg of heroin in Perth and another 11 kg in Adelaide. Ms Sharp asked Mr Power about when her saw the Hong Kong Jockey Report that Mr Buchanan wrote and alleged Chau was a member of the Macau faction of the 14K Triad Society and follower of former 14K . [22] More recent reports from United States sources state that the 14K triad group and the Sun Yee On triad have a foothold in Australia. The report also talked about the Hong Kong-based 14K triad. While the triad leadership does not always initiate and direct the activities of all the triad members, triads clearly serve as international networking associations that facilitate such activity. A haul of 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of heroin bound for the United States confiscated during an operation in Bangkok in January 2000 was attributed to the 14K. 4.5 Australian law enforcement agencies believe that ethnic Chinese have been for many years, and still are, the major organisers of heroin imports into Australia. Lai and his wife, accompanied by their three minor children, arrived at Vancouver airport on Oct. 28, 1996, under a permanent resident visa. 3, March 1993, p. 222. They are decentralized and highly flexible with no overarching leader that commands the Triad as a whole. The narcotics are smuggled from Guangdong to Vancouver by the Triads, who have had a foothold in Vancouver since the 1990s. Lai did not attend the hearings in person, but listened to a Cantonese translator via telephone. In 1997, soon after he arrived in Vancouver, his home was peppered with bullets. The statement also lists yakuza gangs and eurasian gangs (ie. 1, 2; and "Massive hauls of high-grade heroin", Sunday Mail (Brisbane), 25 September 1994, pp. Its Chinese designation is Tai Huen Chai (). [44] Data for total seizures (ie. 4.4 Others agree on the importance of south-east Asia as a source of the heroin arriving in Australia. [10] However, the group relocated to Hong Kong in 1949 when the Kuomintang fled from the Communists following the Chinese Civil War. Further, sellers of high-end automobiles in Vancouver have no incentive to report suspiciously large cash sales. "[38], The 14K is among the main groups responsible for meth trafficking in Australia. [55]See for example, United States Senate, Committee on the Judiciary and the Caucus on International Narcotics Control, U.S. International Drug Policy - Asian Gangs, Heroin and the Drug Trade, Joint Hearing, 21 August 1990, p. 16 (statement of R.M. 4.25 A 1993 paper by two Australian criminologists argued: 'Our ethnically Chinese criminals are just ethnic Chinese criminals; they can be organised in the corporate or enterprise sense but Triad membership or otherwise appears something of an irrelevance'. Most of the triads that we have encountered in Canada have an origin in Hong Kong but they operate independently in Canada, Fisher said. In the two months since the military reestablished its tumultuous rule, criminal activities in Myanmar have widened dramatically, posing new challenges to the region's efforts and ability to control cross-border crime. Compared with other triad societies, the 14K is one of the largest and most violent Hong Kong-based triad societies, and its members appear to be more loosely connected. A decision in Lais case is not expected for several months. E-mail me when people leave their comments , How The Hells Angels Actually Works | How Crime Works | Insider, Bonannos go to war in New York: Shooting in Long Island tied to Mikey Nose and Joe C. beef, Watermelons, submarines & sex toys: The craziest ways cartels traffic drugs, How China Is Fuelling America's Drug Epidemic. In 2018, the Treasury statement said, Wan established the headquarters of the World Hongmen History and Culture Association in Cambodia. [45] To the extent that ethnic-Chinese groups dominate the import of heroin, this gives some measure of the distribution of their activities, although the figures fluctuate from year to year.