- Triads in the United Kingdom
Triads in United Kingdom first appeared during the post-World War era with the
14k Triad emerging in Chinese communities inLondon ,Birmingham ,Liverpool andManchester inEngland andGlasgow inScotland as early as1952 . A later migration followed as members ofChung Mon 's organization fledAmsterdam following the Triad leader's death in 1975 as well as those from Hong Kong during the 1980s.Early years of Triad activity
Although illegal gambling dens, brothels and mahjong schools developed in run down Chinese communities since the late 1940s, authorities largely ignored the minor criminal activities from a generally law abiding segment of British society. However, with the large scale immigration encouraged by the Labour Party in 1964, a large scale wave of
Hong Kong immigrants included Triad groups eager to expand drug trafficking networks into Europe. Although nearly all the Triads operating in the United Kingdom were affiliated with the 14k, each operated independently of the Hong Kong 14k and generally viewed each other as rivals.Drug trafficking and cooperation with the United States
It is unclear which Triad was responsible for first importing heroin into the UK, however authorities believe it was originally transported from Hong Kong, via Amsterdam by the
Ng Sik-ho , and received by either the 14k or the recently arrivedWo Shing Wo .Although warned by officials from the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Bureau (later known as the
Drug Enforcement Agency ) and theFederal Bureau of Investigation through the U.S. Embassy in London, British officials were unprepared to deal with the growing narcotics problem. With the United States becoming aware of the large amounts of heroin being smuggled via the UK, British officials were assisted by a resident officer attached to the US embassy who was assigned to gather intelligence on drug traffickers and identify couriers before eventually infiltrating their organization.However, the resident officer ran into difficulties while working with English law enforcement concerning his methods, which contrasted sharply with British policy. Among these included his use of paying informants to pose as buyers to purchase narcotics though a federal government
slush fund whereas British criminal informants are not paid except for expenses and are required to sign an official government contract stating they are informants in the employ of the British government.With the corruption within the Hong Kong police force being dealt with by the
Independent Commission Against Corruption of Hong Kong (ICAC), many of the city's Triads turned to the UK where a narcotics task force was nonexistent and their existence largely unknown by British officials.Arrival of the Wo On Lok and the Sun Yee On
During the 1980s, the power of the Chinese underworld was constantly shifting from one Triad to another in an attempt to control Britain's drug trafficking trade. Triads soon began expanding into other criminal activities including VAT fraud using innocent loanshark and extortion victims to provide a front business. The Triads also began to turn away from heroin as well instead turning to less serious drugs such as
cannabis anddesigner drugs which were smuggled by Triad couriers fromThe Netherlands andGermany as they competed with rival European competitors.Following the signing of the
Joint Declaration between the UK and China in 1984, the news of Hong Kong's return to China caused many Triads to flee to Britain, specifically theWo On Lok and theSun Yee On .These newer Triads were far more organized and professional and, as many of its members were respected and prominent Hong Kong businessmen, they were easily able to use their legitimate businesses as fronts for tax evasion and money laundering. The Wo On Lok soon established themselves in London and
Southampton in England and, maintaining links to similarly exiled groups inIreland ,France , the Netherlands and Germany, they engaged in smaller crime such as illegal gambling, counterfeiting, and video piracy although they also continue extortion activities on Chinese residents.Government prosecution
British authorities finally began to crack down on Triad activity during the early 1990s and, although law enforcement had been battling the Triads for some time, their first insight on the Triad structure and influence in British society came during the 1993 trial of
George Cheung Wai-hen , an assassin for the Wo On Lok turned government informant, who testified at theOld Bailey against six Chinese immigrants who were charged with possession of a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to rival Triad memberLam Ying-kit after a failed attempt on his life on September 7, 1991.According to testimony by Cheung, he also described his induction ceremony into the Wo On Lok which followed traditional Triad initiation taking place at around 2 am in the basement of the Princess Garden Chinese Restaurant in Greyhound Road,
Fulham . During the ceremony he claimed to have paid his sponsor and "dai lo", actorTang Wai-ming , an initiation fee of £36.60 to operate in the UK. As a result of his testimony, Cheung was given a reduced sentence of five years imprisonment.Triads active in the United Kingdom
*Wo Shing Wo :The Wo Shing Wo is considered by authorities to be the largest Triad operating in Britain. Although largely based in Manchester, it also has affiliated groups in Birmingham, Glasgow and London and smaller groups in Bristol, Newcastle and Cardiff. Although members are recruited in the traditional manner, many members include prominent businessmen who either ally with the organization for their own protection or as full associates participants in their criminal activities. Although they abide by the territorial urban districts of other Triad organizations, often centered around a Chinese cultural club or martial arts associations, they have been involved in extortion activities over wide area as far as
Truro andGreat Yarmouth .
*14k Triad :Despite its declining power since its first appearance in the early 1950s, the 14k Triad remains the oldest and well established in the underworld as the second largest Triad organization operating in the UK. Based primarily inLondon andLiverpool , the 14k continues its traditional activities of loansharking and extortion of Chinese businesses although they have also had a history of targeting other immigrant groups such as Indian and Pakistani running corner shops and small factories (however, West Indians have been more likely to report incidents of harassment and intimidation than their Asian counterparts). Much of the Triads membership is made up of teenagers or illegal Chinese immigrants and there are now confirmed reports of non-Chinese and female members as well.
*Sun Yee On :The Sun Yee On is an influential Triad organization which, like its Hong Kong affiliates, is highly organized criminal syndicate invoved inwhite-collar crime as well as owning legitimate businesses, specifically in the entertainment industry which arrange concerts and theatrical plays from the Orient.References
*Booth, Martin. "The Dragon Syndicates: The Global Phenomenon of the Triads". New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1999. ISBN 0-7867-0735-6
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