1. Chapter 6:
Chinese Organized Crime

2. Chapter Outline Introduction & Overview Chinese Triads
The Origins & Early History of Chinese Organized Crime (COC) in Canada
The Post-war Years: Drug Trafficking, People Smuggling, & Gambling
COC in Canada in the 1990s & Beyond
Analyzing COC

3. Learning Outcomes
After reading this chapter, you should have an understanding of:
The origins & history of COC in Canada
The social, political, legal, & economic factors that helped ferment the genesis & proliferation of COC (& applicable etiological theories)
Recent trends & developments in COC
The characteristics of COC based on the application of theoretical models from chapter 3
The significance of COC when examining organized crime in Canada

4. Chinese Criminal Genres: Triads
The name “triad” was coined & applied by western law enforcement agencies.
Based on the triangular symbol found on many of the early flags & banners of the historical forebears
Three sides indicate how the founders of the early movements viewed themselves as united by the three forces of the universe: heaven, earth, & man.

5. Chinese Triads
In 17th C. China, secret societies (Hong Men) form to overthrow Mongolian Manchu Qing Dynasty & return the Chinese Ming Dynasty.
Others are formed by clans or tradesmen as mutual aid societies
Some societies engage in profitable crimes (e.g., extortion) for funding
Mid-19th C.: secret societies spread to Hong Kong
British colonial government in Hong Kong passes repressive laws, driving “Black Societies” deeper underground
while causing them to infiltrate workers guilds & associations
Driven by a hatred of British rule, the Chinese in Hong Kong turned to secret societies as surrogate governments & they proliferate

6. Chinese Triads
Early 20th C.: Triad societies support the Chinese National Party (Kuomintang) under Sun Yet Sen
1912: Republic of China is born & influence of triads became pervasive
Triad “brothers” immersed in civil service, military & commerce
1949: Mao’s communists seize control
Many triad members flee to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, U.S., Canada, & Australia.
Kuomintang government flees to Taiwan, which becomes hotbed of triad activity
Remnants of Kuomintang army forced into Burma where they become major heroin traffickers (with CIA support)
Sun Yet Sen

7. History of COC in Canada
19th C: Chinese migrants flock to US & Canada to mine gold & work on railways
Chinese entrepreneurs cater to workers’ vices (gambling, opium, & prostitutes)
Hong Men societies established in B.C. to provide recreational & benevolent services, & to help Chinese encountering discrimination
Some society members become involved in gambling operations
The Barkerville, B.C. Chee Kung Tong Building erected in 1870s

8. History of COC in Canada
Late 19th & early 20th Century
Chinese Criminal Organizations
Active in gambling, prostitution & opium trafficking
1908: Criminalization of opium & heroin in Canada
Illegal opium trade include syndicates operating between Hong Kong, China, Vancouver, Toronto, & U.S.
1928: Vancouver’s Shu Moey, ("King of the Gamblers”) the focus of an inquiry into local government & police corruption
Chinatowns in Victoria & Vancouver become locales for gambling, opium dens, & bawdy houses

9. History of COC in Canada
Discussion & Analysis:
Strain Theory as an Explanation for COC
Early Chinese immigrants faced intense racism & discrimination in BC (including “Anti-Asiatic” groups)
Chinatowns came into existence because Chinese forbidden from buying property in “white” parts of Victoria & Vancouver
Chinese labourers receive far lower wages for same work as whites
Chinese-Canadians don’t get the provincial vote in BC until 1949
Chinese men banished from white gambling halls & bawdy houses
Does strain theory help to explain, at least partially, the onset of organized criminality among the Chinese in Canada?

11. History of COC in Canada
1960s: presence of triads intensifies in North America.
Triads & other COC groups expand heroin trafficking
1970s & 1980s: Continual migration of Chinese to North America escalates triad presence
1990s: Massive migration of Hong Kong residents to Canada & U.S. (including criminal triad members)
Canada emerges as key international location for triad groups
Vancouver becomes key entry point for Southeast Asian heroin entering North America

12. History of COC in Canada
The Kung Lok
Mid-1970s: Chapters in Toronto & Ottawa founded
Established expressly for criminal purposes
Used a traditional triad organizational hierarchy, division of labour & customs
Involved in multiple enterprises: extortion, robberies, gambling, loansharking, fraud & drug trafficking
Lost power due arrest/deportation of leaders & rival Vietnamese gangs
Image Source: Ben Firsch
Lau Wing Kui, founder of the Kung Lok

13. History of COC in Canada
The Big Circle Boys
Origins: Red Army Soldiers flee Communist “re-education” camps in China to Hong Kong
where they form gangs involved in robbery & other predatory crimes
Established in Vancouver & Toronto in 1980s
where they carry out violent robberies, kidnappings, home invasions
Using their military background, BCB organize other Asian gangs in BC’s Lower Mainland
Toronto Star, March

14. History of COC in Canada
The Big Circle Boys
Not a triad
Devoid of triad structure, binding relations, or rituals; there is no initiation, no ceremony, or formal membership requirements
Epitomized the network approach
Extensive cooperation between different cells in many parts of Canada & the world
Eventually become involved in more elaborate crimes, including drug trafficking, fraud, & counterfeiting

15. History of COC in Canada
Contemporary COC in Canada
Some Hong Kong triads have a presence in Canada: the 14K, Lotus Gang, the Sun Yee On, Wo On Lok, & Taiwanese United Bamboo
Most COC operations in Canada are only loosely affiliated with triads & few follow the structure or rituals anymore
Today, COC epitomizes the network approach
Involved in a wide range of profitable organized crimes:
drug production (marijuana, synthetic drugs),
drug trafficking (heroin & cocaine)
human smuggling & trafficking
counterfeiting (digital products, consumer goods, fashions)
fraud
extortion
illegal gambling
loansharking

16. COC Characteristics Organizational
Multiple Offenders/Pattern to their Relationships
In Canada, COC networks involve dozens of offenders; a triad may have hundreds & even thousands of members
Triads have long been viewed as hierarchical organizations
While the structure of a typical triad ‘lodge’ may be hierarchical, the criminal operations are executed using a network approach
Triad members tend to have much autonomy & frequently branch out into their own criminal enterprises
Whether a triad or non-triad, COC highly networked

17. COC Characteristics

18. COC Characteristics
A triad society is not necessarily an organized crime syndicate.
However, some members participate in illegal activities along with other members & non-triad offenders

19. COC Characteristics Organizational Insulation:
Kung Lok used lower echelon “49” members & 36 binding oaths
Immersion in Chinese communities in Canada, US, Australia, etc.
Networked/cellular approach
Violence & intimidation
Recruit Chinese students & migrants to carry out crimes
Channels of Communication:
Known to use coded language
Criminal triad members known to use hand signals

20. COC Characteristics Organizational Limited or Exclusive Membership
Triad: Restricted to ethnic Chinese, prospect must obtain a sponsor & is initiated into triad through elaborate ceremony
Recruitment
(Forcibly) recruit Chinese students in Canada
Recruits smuggled into Canada from China or Hong Kong
Recruitment geared toward attracting members with specific skills (computer, military, money laundering)

21. COC Characteristics Organizational Continuing Enterprise
Some triads have been around for more than 100 years;
14K triad was founded around 1915
Kung Lok & Big Circle Boys were in existence for several years
Non-triad: Networked approach means no structure or centralized command is sustained
Offenders may join together depending on the criminal conspiracy
Yet, career Chinese criminals sustain activities over a period time

22. COC Characteristics Organizational Multi-Jurisdiction / Transnational
COC operates throughout Canada
Triad & non-Triad COC have cells & associates located in numerous countries throughout Asia, Europe, North America, & Australia.
Transnational criminal activities: drug trafficking, people smuggling, human trafficking, counterfeiting, etc.
Sophistication
Highly sophisticated in terms of their networked organization, varied & high-volume operations, & use of technology

23. COC Characteristics Commercial
Profit-Oriented Serious Crimes/Multiple Enterprise
COC engaged in a wide array of predatory & consensual crimes
Numerous independent loosely-knit groups focus exclusively on one crime (e.g., heroin or people smuggling)

24. COC Characteristics Commercial Toronto Star, Sept. 6, 2000
Profit-Oriented Serious Crimes/Multiple Enterprise
Toronto Star, Sept. 6, 2000

25. COC Characteristics Commercial Tactical Criminal Activities
Corruption – COC in Canada known to bribe Immigration officials
Violence – Kung Lok & BCB used violence & intimidation
Money Laundering – COC launders
large amounts of cash through
legitimate industries, real estate
& casinos

26. COC Characteristics Behavioural Subcultural Norms
COC influenced by triad & criminal subculture
Have also integrated mainstream Chinese cultural norms:
Networked structure of COC from the traditional Chinese practices of networking
Importance of networking as a norm within Chinese culture & society may itself be a reflection of another significant Chinese cultural trait, known as guanxi
Image Source:

27. COC Characteristics Behavioural
Chronic & Serious Offenders (Career Criminals)
Some, but not all triad members or COC participants are career criminals; some are semi-legitimate business people who participate in crimes periodically
Rationality / Non-Ideological
COC is highly rational in it focuses on profitable crimes
While triads began as ideological rebel groups, they are now focused on facilitating a network of legitimate & illegitimate business people

28. COC Characteristics Behavioural
Rules, Regulations, Code of Conduct (Triads)
Ritual initiation, which includes an elaborate ceremony of 36 oaths & drinking a mixture of blood
The 36 oaths date back to the seventeenth century, today they form a fierce code of honour & discipline
Discipline is also an important organizational norm imbedded in the triads: disloyalty to a triad often results in death.
Chinese numerology has much to do with the rituals attached to the triad structure & membership.
Contemporary COC has largely abandoned the rituals of triads