- Big Circle Gang
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The Big Circle Boys (大圈幫) is one of the major Chinese Organized Crime syndicates. Its Chinese designation is Tai Huen Chai (大圈仔). It was featured in the Alex Rider novel Skeleton Key. It was created by corrupt members of the Red Guards (China) who fled to Hong Kong as refugees from Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution.
In 2008, building on extensive literature and interview data, Alex Chung, a scholar from Oxford focused on the Big Circle Boys and the case of the ‘Flaming Eagles’, a group of some ten associations of the Big Circle Boys, the primary activity of which was the smuggling and trafficking of heroin from the ‘Golden Triangle’ region to the United States. Chung argued that the Big Circle Boys is a loosely affiliated group of gangs rather than a unified criminal group. Members often operate in autonomous mini-pyramids with small cells, engaging in illegal activities independently and co-operating only when necessary.[1]
Since 2000, there have not been many reports on the Big Circle Boys, thus it seems extremely difficult to obtain the clear map of its criminal activities worldwide in recent years. Hong Kong and Western enforcement agencies currently tend to label criminals originating from Guangzhou or other parts of China as 'Asian criminals' in a generic manner instead of calling them as ‘Big Circle Boys’. In the past 10 years, more and more Chinese immigrants from different provinces can be found in Hong Kong and Western Societies, which seems to be the main concern of Western and Hong Kong agencies to label the Big Circle Boys in a generic manner. [2]
The Big Circle Gang is also believed to be linked to the shooting of Hong Chao Huang in the upscale district of Shaughnessy in Vancouver, BC, Canada. [3]
See also
- Criminal tattoos
- Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)
- Triad (underground societies)
- Wah Ching
References
- ^ Chung, Alex (2008). "The big circle boys: Revisiting the case of the flaming eagles". Global Crime 9 (4): 306-331.
- ^ Wang, Peng (2011). "Vicious circles - Gang legacy of the Cultural Revolution". Jane's Intelligence Review 23 (08): 46-49.
- ^ "Big Circle Boys born of Red Guards: Drugs, loansharking among Asian gang's specialities". Vancouver Sun. June 10, 2005. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/specials/websterawards/story.html?id=56ca11d5-f4e6-455a-b686-f7cc9b668c12.
External links
- Chinese Organized Crime and Illegal Alien Trafficking: Humans as a Commodity (US Department of State)
- High-ranking Big Circle Boy killed in Vancouver (Global TV)
- [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/16/1039656340452.html
Raid revealed extortion gang's strength (Sydney Morning Herald)]
Organized crime groups in Canada Province of Quebec - Italian organized crime: Rizzuto crime family · Cotroni crime family
- Outlaw motorcycle clubs: Rock Machine · Rockers MC
- Irish Mob: West End Gang
Province of British Columbia Province of Manitoba Foreign groups - Outlaw motorcycle clubs: Hells Angels · Bandidos · Outlaws
- Italian organized crime groups: Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia clan · 'Ndrangheta
- Chinese Triad groups: Big Circle Boys · 14K Triad · Wah Ching
- American gangs: Crips · Bloods · Mara Salvatrucha
Types: Aboriginal Based Organized Crime (See: Gangs in Canada)This article about a criminal organization is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.