triad (organized crime)

{{Infobox Chinese

| title = Sanhehui

| t = 三合會

| s = 三合会

| p = Sān Hé Huì

| w = San¹-he²-hui⁴

| j = Saam¹ Hap⁶ Wui²

| y = Sāam hahp wúi

| poj = Saⁿ-ha̍p-hōe

| tl = Sann-ha̍p-huē

| lmz = Se-gheh-we

| l = Three Harmonies Society

}}

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "triad" is a translation of the Chinese term San He Hui ({{lang|zh|三合會}}), referring to the union of heaven, earth, and humanity.{{cite web |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/triad |title=British & World English: Definition of triad in English |website=Oxford Living Dictionaries |access-date=2 October 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170115112216/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/triad |archive-date=15 January 2017 }} Another theory posits that the word "triad" was coined by British officials in colonial Hong Kong as a reference to the triads' use of triangular imagery.{{Cite news |last=Gertz |first=Bill |author-link=Bill Gertz |date=April 30, 2010 |title=Organized-crime triads targeted |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/30/organized-crime-triads-targeted/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The Washington Times |quote=British authorities in colonial Hong Kong dubbed the groups triads because of the triangular imagery. |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226190027/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/30/organized-crime-triads-targeted/ |url-status=live }} This theory however is highly improbable as the term "Triad" had been used by William Milne to describe secret societies in Southern China as early as 1826, well before the colony was even formed.{{cite journal |last1=Milne |first1=William |title=Some account of a secret association in China, entitled the Triad Society |journal=Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |date=1826 |volume=1 |issue=2 |page=240 |doi=10.1017/S0950473700000197 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/2054188 |access-date=2023-05-25 |archive-date=2023-07-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712225848/https://zenodo.org/record/2054188 |url-status=live }} It has been speculated that triad organizations took after, or were originally part of, militant movements such as the White Lotus,Triad Societies, p. 4 the Taiping and Boxer Rebellions, and the Heaven and Earth Society.

The generic use of the word "triads" for all Chinese criminal organizations is imprecise; triad groups are geographically, ethnically, culturally, and structurally unique. "Triads" are traditional organized-crime groups originating from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.Chu, Y. K. (2002). The triads as business. Routledge. {{ISBN|9780415757249}} Criminal organizations operating in, or originating from, mainland China are "mainland Chinese criminal groups" or "black societies".{{Cite book |last=Wang |first=Peng |title=The Chinese Mafia: Organized Crime, Corruption, and Extra-Legal Protection |date=2017-01-19 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-875840-2 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198758402.001.0001}}

The Triad, a China-based criminal organization, secret association, or club, was a branch of the secret Hung Society, a secret society formed with the intent of overthrowing the then-ruling Qing dynasty. Triads therefore first began as part of an organized patriotic movement to overthrow ethnic Manchu Qing rule, which was considered tyrannical and foreign to the Han ethnic majority. At the turn of the 19th century, Chinese triads were involved in revolutionary and underground activities designed to subvert the ailing Qing, which was considered corrupt and incapable of reform.

Secret societies in the Qing Dynasty era were synonymous with patriotism, with groups operating under the banner of: "Oppose the Qing and Restore the Ming dynasty" ({{zhi|c=反清复明|p=Fǎn Qīng Fù Míng}}). Triads were also enlisted by the Kuomintang (KMT) during the Republican era in order to assassinate political opponents and attack political enemies. Notable organizations included the Green Gang, another Hung Society splinter which participated in the Shanghai massacre of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members in 1927.{{Cite news |last=Ramzy |first=Austin |date=2019-07-24 |title=What Are the Triads, and What Is Their History of Violence? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/world/asia/hong-kong-triads-protests.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014062432/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/world/asia/hong-kong-triads-protests.html |archive-date=2019-10-14 |access-date=2022-08-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

After the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, secret societies in mainland China were suppressed in campaigns ordered by Mao Zedong. Deng Xiaoping also suppressed the secret societies in his "Strike Hard" campaigns against organized crime in 1978. As a result, most traditional Chinese secret societies, including the triads and some of the remaining Green Gang, relocated to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and overseas countries (particularly the United States), where they competed with the Tong and other ethnic Chinese criminal organizations. Gradually, Chinese secret societies turned to the illegal drug trade and extortion for income. In mainland China, there are of two major types of "mainland Chinese criminal organizations": loosely-organized "dark forces" ({{zhi|c=黑恶势力|p=Hēi è shìlì}}) and more mature "black societies" ({{zhi|s=黑社会|p=Hēishèhuì}}). Two features which distinguish a black society from ordinary "dark forces" or low-level criminal gangs are the extent to which the organization is able to control local markets and the degree of police protection able to be obtained.{{Cite journal |last=Wang |first=Peng |date=20 November 2012 |title=The rise of the Red Mafia in China: a case study of organised crime and corruption in Chongqing |journal=Trends in Organized Crime |language=en |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=49–73 |doi=10.1007/s12117-012-9179-8 |s2cid=255519773 |issn=1084-4791}}

The Tiandihui, the Heaven and Earth Society, also called Hongmen (the Vast Family), is a Chinese fraternal organization and historically a secretive folk religious sect in the vein of the Ming loyalist White Lotus Sect, the Tiandihui's ancestral organization.{{Cite journal |last=Ownby |first=David |date=1995 |title=The Heaven and Earth Society as Popular Religion |url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/journal-of-asian-studies/article/54/4/1023/337156 |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |language=en |volume=54 |issue=4 |pages=1023–1046 |doi=10.2307/2059958 |jstor=2059958 |issn=0021-9118 |via=}} As the Tiandihui spread through different counties and provinces, it branched off into many groups and became known by many names, including the Sanhehui. The Hongmen grouping is today more or less synonymous with the whole Tiandihui concept, although the title "Hongmen" is also claimed by some criminal groups. Branches of the Hongmen were also formed by Chinese communities overseas, some of which became known as Chinese Freemasons. Its current iteration is purely secular.

Such societies were seen as legitimate ways of helping immigrants from China settle into their new place of residence through employment and development of local connections. Triads had been banned by the Colonial government in Hong Kong in 1845, and it is also argued that triads had monopolized the labor market from 1857. Secret societies were banned by the British colonial government in Singapore during the 1890s and were slowly reduced in number by successive colonial governors and leaders. Rackets which facilitated the economic power of Singapore triads, the opium trade, and prostitution were also banned. Immigrants were encouraged to seek help from a local kongsi instead of turning to secret societies, which contributed to the societies' decline.{{Cite journal|last=Peng|first=Wang Tai|title=The Word "kongsi": A Note|date=1979|journal=Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society|volume=52(1 (235))|issue=1 (235)|pages=102–105|jstor=41492844}}{{Cite book|title=Chinese democracies : a study of the kongsis of West Borneo (1776-1884)|last=Bingling.|first=Yuan|date=2000|publisher=Research School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies, Universiteit Leiden|isbn=9789057890314|location=Leiden|oclc=43801655}} During the Taiping Rebellion, many either decided or were forced to aid the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in opposition to the interference of the Qing dynasty. At the end of the 19th century, at least one-third of Hong Kong Chinese were estimated to be part of the triads.

File:KWC - 1989 Aerial.jpg in British Hong Kong was controlled by local triads.]]

Chu Yiu-kong argues that modern triad societies were not originally formed in Hong Kong but instead had their origins in mainland China due to an influx of Chinese refugees. They eventually made use of the triad network to help in opium trafficking as well as non-illicit trade such as labor issues and participation in the republican movement. The triad society worked as a mutual assistance group that assisted in migratory labor.{{Cite book |last=Chu |first=Yiu-kong |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rGyGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT3 |title=The Triads as Business |date=2002-01-04 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-69681-9 |pages=16–17 |language=en}}

According to the University of Hong Kong, most triad societies were established between 1914 and 1939 and there were once more than 300 in the territory. Arguably the most prominent triad leader of the 1930s being Du Yuesheng. After World War II, the secret societies saw a resurgence as gangsters took advantage of the uncertainty to re-establish themselves. Some Chinese communities, such as "new villages" in Kuala Lumpur and Bukit Ho Swee in Singapore, became notorious for gang violence. After 1949, in mainland China, law enforcement became stricter and a government crackdown on criminal organizations forced the triads to migrate to British Hong Kong. An estimated 300,000 triad members lived in Hong Kong during the 1950s.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}} The number of groups has consolidated to about 50, of which 14 are under police surveillance. There were four main groups of triads—the Chiu Chow Group (including Sun Yee On), 14K, the Wo Group (including Wo Shing Wo), and the Sze Tai (Luen Group, Tan Yee, Macau Chai, Tung Group), the Big Four in Chinese—operating in Hong Kong.{{Cite web |last=Kwok |first=Sharon |date=9 Jan 2017 |title=Triad Society in Hong Kong: The Hierarchical Approach and Criminal's Collaborations |url=http://lbms03.cityu.edu.hk/theses/c_ftt/phd-ss-15457829.pdf |access-date=28 June 2023 |website=CityU Scholars |archive-date=22 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222020304/https://lbms03.cityu.edu.hk/theses/c_ftt/phd-ss-15457829.pdf |url-status=live }} They divided land by ethnic group and geographic locations, with each triad in charge of a region. Each had their own headquarters, sub-societies, and public image.

During the 1960s and 1970s, several notable triad leaders were active such Ng Sik-ho and Ma Sik-chun in Hong Kong and Stephen Tse in Boston. In the early 1980s, the Chinese Communist Party Deputy Committee Secretary of Xinhua News Agency, Wong Man-fong, negotiated with Hong Kong-based triads on behalf of the government of People's Republic of China to ensure their peace after the handover of Hong Kong.{{Cite web |date=1997-05-11 |title=Triads and China do Hong Kong deal |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/triads-and-china-do-hong-kong-deal-1261085.html |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=The Independent |language=en |archive-date=2024-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227195655/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/triads-and-china-do-hong-kong-deal-1261085.html |url-status=live }} While triad activity increased in mainland China in the 1980s as a result of economic and political changes, increased corruption, rapid urbanization, and increased demands for illicit goods and services.{{Cite book |last=Han |first=Enze |title=The Ripple Effect: China's Complex Presence in Southeast Asia |date=2024 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-769659-0 |location=New York, NY}}{{Rp|page=100}} The 1980s and 1990s saw the downfall of several prominent triad leaders, with arms smuggler Cheung Tze-keung, triad leader Wan Kuok-koi and Peter Chong (convicted of racketeering and extortion) all ending up behind bars, while entertainment industry figures such as Taiwanese director Jimmy Wang Yu and Hong Kong film producer Charles Heung were suspected of having ties to organized crime.

In the 2000s, reporters noted that the Sun Yee On appeared to send teams from China to São Paulo as enforcers, where they carry out intimidation, assault, and sometimes murder, to anyone who fails to pay protection money. While in Japan, a senior official in 2003 at the National Police Agency in Tokyo mentioned clashes between the yakuza and Chinese gangs were increasing.{{Cite book |last=Glenny |first=Misha |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4RLJIkFRHAgC&pg=PP5 |title=McMafia: Seriously Organised Crime |date=2009 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-1-4090-7714-5 |language=en |chapter=Chapter 12}}

On 18 January 2018, Italian police arrested 33 people connected to a Chinese triad operating in Europe as part of its Operation China Truck (which began in 2011). The triad were active in Tuscany, Veneto, Rome, and Milan in Italy, and in France, Spain, and the German city of Neuss. The indictment accused the Chinese triad of extortion, usury, illegal gambling, prostitution, and drug trafficking. The group was said to have infiltrated the transport sector, using intimidation and violence against Chinese companies wishing to transport goods by road into Europe.{{cite news|title=Italian police bust Chinese 'mafia' running rackets across Europe|url=https://www.thelocal.it/20180118/italy-chinese-mafia-china-truck|newspaper=The Local Italy|date=18 January 2018|access-date=23 January 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124005759/https://www.thelocal.it/20180118/italy-chinese-mafia-china-truck|archive-date=24 January 2018}} Police seized several vehicles, businesses, properties, and bank accounts.{{cite news|title=Italy arrests 33 'Chinese mafia' members|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42724613|access-date=23 January 2018|agency=BBC|date=18 January 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123092922/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42724613|archive-date=23 January 2018}}

According to the expert in terrorist organizations and mafia-type organized crime, Antonio De Bonis, there is a close relationship between the Triads and the Camorra, and the port of Naples is the most important landing point of the trades managed by the Chinese in cooperation with the Camorra. Among the illegal activities in which the two criminal organizations work together are human trafficking and illegal immigration aimed at the sexual and labor exploitation of Chinese immigrants into Italy, as well as synthetic drug trafficking and the laundering of illicit money through the purchase of real estate.{{Cite web|title=Così la mafia cinese se la intende con la camorra|url=https://www.ilfoglio.it/cronache/2018/04/16/news/cosi-la-mafia-cinese-se-la-intende-con-la-camorra-189623/|access-date=2020-06-09|website=www.ilfoglio.it|language=it|archive-date=2020-11-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123191722/https://www.ilfoglio.it/cronache/2018/04/16/news/cosi-la-mafia-cinese-se-la-intende-con-la-camorra-189623/|url-status=live}} In 2017, investigators discovered an illicit industrial waste transportation scheme jointly run by the Camorra and Triads. The waste was transported from Italy to China, leaving from Prato in Italy and arriving in Hong Kong- a scheme which, prior to its discovery, had been netting millions of dollars' worth of revenue for both organizations.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=26 April 2017 |title=Rifiuti, scoperto un traffico di plastica da Prato a Hong Kong |url=https://tg24.sky.it/cronaca/2017/04/26/plastica-da-prato-a-hong-kong--patto-mafia-cinese-e-camorra |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918205022/https://tg24.sky.it/cronaca/2017/04/26/plastica-da-prato-a-hong-kong--patto-mafia-cinese-e-camorra |archive-date=2020-09-18 |access-date=2020-06-09 |website=tg24.sky.it |language=it}}

In April 2025, Zhang Dayong, known as Asheng, was executed in Rome with a gunshot to the head and three to the chest. He was the right-hand man of Zhang Naizhong, the alleged head of the Chinese mafia in Europe, and served as his representative in Rome. Zhang Dayong had a history of violent offenses and was considered a key player in the organization’s illegal activities in Italy, including loan sharking and running underground gambling operations. Although he officially ran a store in Rome’s Esquilino neighbourhood, Asheng was in charge of the Chinese mafia's operations in the Italian capital. Investigators link him to past violence, including the enforcement of payments through beatings. He was also present at the lavish 2013 wedding of Naizhong Zhang’s son, attended by major figures in the Chinese criminal underworld. Asheng reportedly lost favor within the organization after several missteps, including getting drunk and assaulting women at a brothel managed by a fellow gang member. Intercepted conversations reveal how his disrespect toward superiors and erratic behavior eventually sealed his fate. His murder is believed to be connected to the ongoing turf war among Chinese gangs, known as the “hanger war” of Prato, which has now spread to Rome. His death marks a significant escalation in the mafia conflict.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-16 |title=Zhang Dayong, re delle bische e braccio destro dell'Uomo nero: chi era il boss ucciso al Pigneto |url=https://roma.repubblica.it/cronaca/2025/04/16/news/zhang_dayong_omicidio_pigneto_bische_naizhong_zhang-424130629/#google_vignette |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=la Repubblica |language=it}}

Triads engage in a variety of crimes such as fraud, extortion, and money laundering, drug trafficking and prostitution, illegal gambling, smuggling, and counterfeit consumer goods such as music, video, software, clothes, watches, and money.{{Cite web |last=Reddick |first=James |date=July 22, 2024 |title=Chinese 'cybercrime syndicate' behind gambling sites advertised at European sporting events |url=https://therecord.media/chinese-cybercrime-syndicate-gambling-football-europe |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=Recorded Future}}

Since the first opium bans during the 19th century, Chinese criminal gangs have been involved in worldwide illegal drug trade. Many triads switched from opium to heroin, produced from opium plants in the Golden Triangle, refined into heroin in China, and trafficked to North America and Europe, in the 1960s and 1970s. The most important triads active in the international heroin trade are the 14K and the Big Circle Gang. Triads smuggle chemicals from Chinese factories to North America (for the production of fentanyl and methamphetamine), and to Europe for the production of MDMA.{{Cite news |last1=Goudsward |first1=Andrew |last2=Psaledakis |first2=Daphne |date=2023-10-03 |title=US takes action against Chinese companies, people tied to fentanyl |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us-sanctions-china-based-network-accused-trafficking-fentanyl-2023-10-03/ |access-date=2023-10-03 |archive-date=2023-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004062803/https://www.reuters.com/world/us-sanctions-china-based-network-accused-trafficking-fentanyl-2023-10-03/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2023-08-28 |title=Treasury Targets Large Chinese Network of Illicit Drug Producers |url=https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1779 |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=U.S. Department of the Treasury |language=en |archive-date=2023-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003190525/https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1779 |url-status=live }} They are increasingly involved in unlicensed cannabis cultivation in the US.{{Cite web |date=2023-03-21 |title=The growing Chinese investment in illegal American weed |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/21/illicit-cannabis-china-00086125 |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=POLITICO |language=en |archive-date=2023-10-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005185238/https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/21/illicit-cannabis-china-00086125 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-03-14 |title=Gangsters, Money and Murder: How Chinese Organized Crime Is Dominating America's Illegal Marijuana Market |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/chinese-organized-crime-us-marijuana-market |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315005847/https://www.propublica.org/article/chinese-organized-crime-us-marijuana-market |archive-date=2024-03-15 |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=ProPublica |language=en |quote=In exchange for government protection, Chinese mobsters deliver services such as illegally moving money overseas for the Communist Party elite and helping to spy on and intimidate Chinese immigrant communities.}} Triads in the United States also traffic large quantities of ketamine. Triad figures are also responsible for large-scale drug trafficking into Australia.{{Cite web |last= |date=24 March 2024 |title=Chinese Communist Party-Backed Businessman in Fiji is a Top Australian Criminal Target |url=https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/chinese-communist-party-backed-businessman-in-fiji-is-a-top-australian-criminal-target |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324110735/https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/chinese-communist-party-backed-businessman-in-fiji-is-a-top-australian-criminal-target |archive-date=24 March 2024 |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=McKenzie |first=Nick |date=2024-03-24 |title='Priority target': The businessman at the top of Australia's intelligence hit list |url=https://www.theage.com.au/world/asia/priority-target-the-businessman-at-the-top-of-australia-s-intelligence-hit-list-20240320-p5fdv8.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240324093351/https://www.theage.com.au/world/asia/priority-target-the-businessman-at-the-top-of-australia-s-intelligence-hit-list-20240320-p5fdv8.html |archive-date=2024-03-24 |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=The Age |language=en}}

Triads have become the principal money launderers for drug cartels in Mexico, Italy, and elsewhere.{{Cite news |last=Parodi |first=Emilio |date=2023-04-06 |title=Italian drugs cartels conceal payments via Chinese shadow banks |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italian-drugs-cartels-conceal-payments-via-chinese-shadow-banks-2023-04-06/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714003532/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italian-drugs-cartels-conceal-payments-via-chinese-shadow-banks-2023-04-06/ |archive-date=2023-07-14 |access-date=2023-07-14 |work=Reuters |language=en}}{{Cite news |last= |date=2023-05-30 |title=Italy police arrest 40 mafia suspects for drug smuggling via Chinese money brokers |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italy-police-arrest-40-mafia-suspects-drug-smuggling-via-chinese-money-brokers-2023-05-30/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714003532/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italy-police-arrest-40-mafia-suspects-drug-smuggling-via-chinese-money-brokers-2023-05-30/ |archive-date=2023-07-14 |access-date=2023-07-14 |work=Reuters |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=April 22, 2024 |title=How Chinese networks clean dirty money on a vast scale |url=https://www.economist.com/china/2024/04/22/how-chinese-networks-clean-dirty-money-on-a-vast-scale |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-04-23 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613 |archive-date=2024-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423005302/https://www.economist.com/china/2024/04/22/how-chinese-networks-clean-dirty-money-on-a-vast-scale |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2025-02-19 |title=How Dirty Money From Fentanyl Sales Is Flowing Through China |url=https://www.wsj.com/world/china/china-fentanyl-trade-network-9685fde2 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=The Wall Street Journal |language=en-US}} They are reported to be money movers for the CCP elite. According to the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, the opioid epidemic in the United States has assisted the triads in becoming "the world's premier money launderers."{{Cite news |last1=Mann |first1=Brian |last2=Feng |first2=Emily |date=April 16, 2024 |title=Report: China continues to subsidize deadly fentanyl exports |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/04/16/1244964595/fentanyl-china-precursor-overdose |access-date=April 16, 2024 |work=NPR |archive-date=April 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416122556/https://www.npr.org/2024/04/16/1244964595/fentanyl-china-precursor-overdose |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2024-04-16 |title=Investigation Findings: The CCP's Role in the Fentanyl Crisis |url=https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/The%20CCP%27s%20Role%20in%20the%20Fentanyl%20Crisis%204.16.24%20%281%29.pdf |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party |language=en |archive-date=2024-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416193344/https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/The%20CCP%27s%20Role%20in%20the%20Fentanyl%20Crisis%204.16.24%20%281%29.pdf |url-status=live }} In the 21st century, Chinese organized crime groups have become major money launderers for cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean hackers.{{Cite news |date=March 19, 2025 |title=Why are North Korean hackers such good crypto-thieves? |url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2025/03/19/why-are-north-korean-hackers-such-good-crypto-thieves |url-access=subscription |access-date=2025-03-22 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}

Triads have been engaging in counterfeiting since the 1880s. During the 1960s and 1970s, they were involved in counterfeiting currency, often the Hong Kong 50-cent piece. The gangs were also involved in counterfeiting expensive books for sale on the black market. With the advent of new technology and the improvement of the average standard of living, triads produce counterfeit goods such as watches, film VCDs and DVDs, and designer apparel such as clothing and handbags.{{Cite book |last=Booth |first=Martin |url=https://archive.org/details/dragonsyndicates0000boot |title=The Dragon Syndicates: The Global Phenomenon of the Triads |date=2000 |publisher=Bantam |isbn=978-0-553-50590-0 |pages=386–400 |language=en}} Since the 1970s, triad turf control was weakened and some shifted their revenue streams to legitimate businesses.Wong, Natalie (21 January 2011) [http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=36&art_id=107259&sid=30994212&con_type=3&d_str=20110121&isSearch=1&sear_year=2011 "Dragons smell blood again"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010212311/http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=36&art_id=107259&sid=30994212&con_type=3&d_str=20110121&isSearch=1&sear_year=2011 |date=2014-10-10 }}. The Standard

{{Excerpt|Pig butchering scam|only=paragraph|paragraphs=1}}

Due to their history of "patriotic" work in support of various political movements and factions, triads have long been reported to have connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), often via its related united front groups.{{Cite news |last=Rotella |first=Sebastian |author-link=Sebastian Rotella |date=July 12, 2023 |title=Outlaw Alliance: How China and Chinese Mafias Overseas Protect Each Other's Interests |work=ProPublica |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/how-beijing-chinese-mafia-europe-protect-interests |url-status=live |access-date=July 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712102005/https://www.propublica.org/article/how-beijing-chinese-mafia-europe-protect-interests |archive-date=July 12, 2023}}{{Cite web |last1=Mavrellis |first1=Channing |last2=Cassara |first2=John |date=October 27, 2022 |title=Made in China: China's Role in Transnational Crime and Illicit Financial Flows |url=https://gfintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GFI-China-TOC-IFF-Report-FINAL-OCT-22.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221032157/https://gfintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GFI-China-TOC-IFF-Report-FINAL-OCT-22.pdf |archive-date=2022-12-21 |access-date=2022-12-21 |website=Global Financial Integrity |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Infernal affairs: how triads embraced communist China |url=https://news.yahoo.com/infernal-affairs-triads-embraced-communist-china-094452383.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823131146/https://news.yahoo.com/infernal-affairs-triads-embraced-communist-china-094452383.html |archive-date=2022-08-23 |access-date=2022-08-23 |website=news.yahoo.com |language=en-US |agency=Agence France-Presse}} Triad members have acted as agents of the party-state in achieving its political objectives of suppressing dissent, quelling protests and silencing, intimidating, and coercing critics both at home and abroad, particularly in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and countries with high concentrations of ethnic Chinese diaspora.{{Cite magazine |last=Dannen |first=Fredric |author-link=Fredric Dannen |date=1997-06-13 |title=Partners in Crime: How Beijing is teaming up with Hong Kong's gangs |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/90738/partners-in-crime |access-date=2024-02-26 |magazine=The New Republic |issn=0028-6583 |archive-date=2023-05-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230509082921/https://newrepublic.com/article/90738/partners-in-crime |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last1=Rotella |first1=Sebastian |author-link=Sebastian Rotella |last2=Berg |first2=Kirsten |last3=Yalch |first3=Garrett |last4=Adcock |first4=Clifton |date=March 22, 2024 |title=A Diplomat's Visits to Oklahoma Highlight Contacts Between Chinese Officials and Community Leaders Accused of Crimes |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/oklahoma-marijuana-china-diplomat-visits |access-date=March 31, 2024 |work=ProPublica |quote=Mobsters overtly support pro-Beijing causes and covertly provide services overseas: engaging in political influence work, moving illicit funds offshore for the Chinese elite and helping persecute dissidents, according to Western officials, court cases and human rights groups. Chinese officials reciprocate by tolerating and sometimes supporting their illicit activities, according to those sources. |archive-date=March 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331010042/https://www.propublica.org/article/oklahoma-marijuana-china-diplomat-visits |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Cole |first=J. Michael |date=18 June 2018 |title=Nice Democracy You've Got There. Be a Shame If Something Happened to It. |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/06/18/nice-democracy-youve-got-there-be-a-shame-if-something-happened-to-it/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823131131/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/06/18/nice-democracy-youve-got-there-be-a-shame-if-something-happened-to-it/ |archive-date=2022-08-23 |access-date=2022-08-23 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}} Organized crime groups have provided the CCP with plausible deniability for political warfare efforts and influence within the certain grassroots communities.{{Cite web |last=Sando |first=Benjamin |date=2024-09-18 |title=Taiwan's Underworld, Part 2: The Chinese Communist Party and United Front Work |url=https://globaltaiwan.org/2024/09/taiwans-underworld-part-2/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=Global Taiwan Institute |language=en-US}} According to Martin Purbrick, the CCP "recognised the benefit of triads as part of their United Front activities to neutralise opposition."{{Cite journal |last=Purbrick |first=Martin |date=23 July 2019 |title=Patriotic Chinese Triads and Secret Societies: From the Imperial Dynasties, to Nationalism, and Communism |journal=Asian Affairs |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=305–322 |doi=10.1080/03068374.2019.1636515 |doi-access=free}} This was demonstrated through the involvement of triads in the 2019 Yuen Long attack against pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong in 2019.{{Cite news |date=2019-07-24 |title=These Are the Triad Gangs Linked to Hong Kong Protester Attacks |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-24/who-are-triads-and-are-they-behind-hong-kong-attacks-quicktake |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211144315/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-24/who-are-triads-and-are-they-behind-hong-kong-attacks-quicktake |archive-date=2021-12-11 |access-date=2022-08-23 |work=Bloomberg News |language=en}} Hong Kong police were subsequently accused of collusion with triad criminal syndicates due to the notable absence of officers at the time of the scene despite heavy police presence at protest events in weeks prior.{{Cite news |date=2019-07-22 |title=Hong Kong protests: Were triads involved in the attacks? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-49071502 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722222717/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-49071502 |archive-date=2019-07-22 |access-date=2022-08-23 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}} The activities of triads are enabled by both local government corruption and law enforcement authorities who turn a blind eye to criminal behavior when influenced by the seniority of corrupt officials out of political convenience. In mainland China, triad groups have worked with local CCP officials.{{Cite book |last=Varese |first=Federico |url=https://archive.org/details/mafiasonmovehowo00vare |title=Mafias on the Move: How Organized Crime Conquers New Territories |date=2011-02-20 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-12855-9 |edition=1 |pages=146–187 |language=en |doi=10.23943/princeton/9780691128559.003.0006 |jstor=j.ctt7t96v.9}}

A 2022 Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) identified connections between key triad figures linked to Wan Kuok-koi and CCP united front political influence operations in Palau. In 2023, a ProPublica investigation found that the leadership of certain Chinese police overseas service stations have ties to organized crime.

In 2024, the OCCRP and The Age reported on connections between triad figures and the CCP's united front operations in the Pacific, particularly in Fiji.

File:Triad structure.svg

Triads use numeric codes to distinguish ranks and positions within the gang; the numbers are inspired by Chinese numerology and are based on the I Ching.Stephen L. Mallory, Understanding Organized Crime (Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2007), page 137 The Mountain (or Dragon Master Head) is 489, 438 is the Deputy Mountain Master, 432 indicates Straw Sandal rank;{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} the Mountain Master's proxy, Incense Master (who oversees inductions into the triad), and Vanguard are 438 or 2238 (who assists the Incense Master). Law enforcement and intel have it that the Vanguard may actually hold the highest power or final word. A military commander (also known as a Red Pole), overseeing defensive and offensive operations, is 426; 49 denotes a soldier, or rank-and-file member. The White Paper Fan (415) provides financial and business advice, and the Straw Sandal (432) is a liaison between units.Stephen L. Mallory, Understanding Organized Crime (Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2007), pages 137–138Secret Societies'', page 167 An undercover law-enforcement agent or spy from another triad is 25, also popular Hong Kong slang for an informant. Blue Lanterns are uninitiated members, equivalent to Mafia associates, and do not have a designating number. According to De Leon Petta Gomes da Costa, who interviewed triads and authorities in Hong Kong, most of the current structure is a vague, low hierarchy. The traditional ranks and positions no longer exist.{{cite journal|author=De Leon Petta Gomes da Costa|title=As Tríades e as Sociedades Secretas na China: Entre o mito e a desmistificação|journal=Brazilian Journal of Social Sciences|issn=1806-9053|date=20 February 2017|volume=32|issue=93|pages=01|doi=10.17666/329309/2017|doi-access=free}}

Similar to the Indian thuggees or the Japanese yakuza, triad members participate in initiation ceremonies. A typical ceremony takes place at an altar dedicated to Guan Yu, with incense and an animal sacrifice, usually a chicken, pig, or goat. After drinking a mixture of wine and blood (from the animal or the candidate), the member passes beneath an arch of swords while reciting the triad's oaths. The paper on which the oaths are written will be burnt on the altar to confirm the member's obligation to perform his duties to the gods. Three fingers of the left hand are raised as a binding gesture.{{cite web |url=http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_378.html |title=Feature Articles 378 |publisher=AmericanMafia.com |access-date=2010-08-31 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101015170735/http://americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_378.html |archive-date=2010-10-15 }} The triad initiate is required to adhere to 36 oaths.{{cite book|title=Triad Societies, Volume 5|date=1941|isbn = 9780415243971|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6irEoGgDrm4C&q=36+oaths+triad&pg=PA123|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180427233200/https://books.google.com/books?id=6irEoGgDrm4C&pg=PA123&lpg=PA123&dq=36+oaths+triad&source=bl&ots=PiX8keM6SV&sig=653NRAjEIYup2NW0cOkvweHhX8A&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-oI4U9D4NcadqAHsi4G4CA&sqi=2&ved=0CEoQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=36%20oaths%20triad&f=false|archive-date=2018-04-27|last1 = Wynne|first1 = Mervyn Llewelyn|publisher=Taylor & Francis }}

{{see also|List of Chinese criminal organizations#Triad societies}}

The most powerful triads based in Hong Kong are:

• Chiu Chow Group:
• Sun Yee On
• King Yee
• Fuk Yee Hing
• Yee Kwan
• 14K:
• 14K Yee
• 14K Hau
• 14K Yan
• 14K Yung
• 14K Ngai
• 14K Chung
• 14K Mui
• 14K Tak
• Wo Group:
• Wo Hop To
• Wo Shing Wo
• Wo On Lok
• Wo Yung Yee
• Wo Kwan Ying
• Wo Li Wo
• Wo Shing Tong
• Wo Hung Shing
• Wo Kwan Lok
• Wo Yee Tong
• Wo Shing Yee
• Wo Yat Ping
• Wo Yee Ping
• Sze Tai:
• Luen Group:
• Luen Ying Sh'e
• Luen Kwan Ying
• Luen Yee Sh'e
• Luen Kwan Sh'e
• Tan Yee
• Macau Chai
• Tung Group:
• Tung San Wo
• Tung Lok Tong
• Tung Yee
• Big Circle Gang
• Hunan Gang
• Rung Group
• Shing Group
• Chuen Group:
• Chuen Chi Wo
• Chuen Yat Chi
• Carpet Bomber
• Neon Dragon

Many triads emigrated to Taiwan and Chinese communities worldwide:

{{Div col}}

• Bamboo Union, Taiwan
• Four Seas Gang, Taiwan
• Tien Tao Meng, Taiwan
• Song Lian Gang, Taiwan
• Lo Fu-chu, Taiwan
• Sio Sam Ong, Malaysia
• Ang Soon Tong, Singapore
• Wah Kee, Singapore
• Ghee Hin Kongsi, Singapore
• Ping On, Boston
• Wah Ching, San Francisco
• Black Dragons, Los Angeles
• Flying Dragons, New York City
• Ghost Shadows, New York City
• Green Dragons, New York City
• White Tigers, New York City
• Ah Kong, Amsterdam, Bangkok
• The Company, Australia, Macau {{cite web |url=https://www.watoday.com.au/business/companies/crown-casino-s-links-to-asian-organised-crime-exposed-20190724-p52ahi.html |title=Crown casino's links to Asian organised crime exposed |last1=McKenzie |first1=Nick |last2=Toscano |first2=Nick |last3=Tobin |first3=Grace |date=27 July 2019 |website=WAtoday |publisher=Nine Entertainment |access-date=27 July 2019 |archive-date=8 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108033056/https://www.watoday.com.au/business/companies/crown-casino-s-links-to-asian-organised-crime-exposed-20190724-p52ahi.html |url-status=live }}

{{Div col end}}

{{See also|Tong (organization)}}

Similar to triads, Tongs originated independently in early immigrant Chinatown communities. The word means "social club", and tongs are not specifically underground organizations. The first tongs formed during the second half of the 19th century among marginalized members of early immigrant Chinese-American communities for mutual support and protection from nativists. Modeled on triads, they were established without clear political motives and became involved in criminal activities such as extortion, illegal gambling, drug and human trafficking, murder, and prostitution.{{cite web|url=http://www.mafianj.com/asian/tongs.shtml|title=The Mafia in New Jersey - Asian Organized Crime Groups - Tongs and Street Gangs - Asian Organized Crime Groups|website=www.mafianj.com|access-date=27 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110716005719/http://www.mafianj.com/asian/tongs.shtml|archive-date=16 July 2011}}Andrew Sekeres III, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110928040841/http://www.gangresearch.net/ChicagoGangs/tongs/sek1.html Institutionalization of the Chinese Tongs in Chicago's Chinatown]}} (accessed June 26, 2011)

{{See also|Secret societies in Singapore}}

Triads are also active in Chinese communities throughout Southeast Asia. When Malaysia and Singapore (with the region's largest population of ethnic Chinese) became crown colonies, secret societies and triads controlled local communities by extorting protection money and illegal money lending. Many conducted blood rituals, such as drinking one another's blood, as a sign of brotherhood; others ran opium dens and brothels.

Remnants of these former gangs and societies still exist. Due to government efforts in Malaysia and Singapore to reduce crime, the societies have largely faded from the public eye (particularly in Malaysia).{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Triads were also common in Vietnamese cities with large Chinese (especially Cantonese and Teochew) communities.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}} During the French colonial period, many businesses and wealthy residents in Saigon (particularly in the Chinatown district) and Haiphong were controlled by protection-racket gangs.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

With Vietnamese independence in 1945, organized crime activity was drastically reduced as Ho Chi Minh's government purged criminal activity in the country. According to Ho, abolishing crime was a method of protecting Vietnam and its people.{{cite web |url=http://www.antv.gov.vn/tin-tuc/chinh-tri/luc-luong-cand-trong-khang-chien-chong-phap-151940.html |title=Lực lượng CAND trong kháng chiến chống Pháp - antv |work=Antv |date=23 July 2015 |access-date=2017-10-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022033504/http://www.antv.gov.vn/tin-tuc/chinh-tri/luc-luong-cand-trong-khang-chien-chong-phap-151940.html |archive-date=2017-10-22 }} During the First Indochina War, Ho's police forces concentrated on protecting people in his zone from crime; the French cooperated with criminal organizations to fight the Viet Minh.{{cite web|url=http://www.catp.danang.gov.vn/lich-su-cong-an-nhan-dan|title=Lịch sử Công an nhân dân - Công An Đà Nẵng|website=www.catp.danang.gov.vn|access-date=27 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022033712/http://www.catp.danang.gov.vn/lich-su-cong-an-nhan-dan|archive-date=22 October 2017}} In 1955, President Ngô Đình Diệm ordered the South Vietnamese military to disarm and imprison organized-crime groups in the Saigon-Gia Định-Biên Hòa-Vũng Tàu region and cities such as Mỹ Tho and Cần Thơ in the Mekong Delta. Diem banned brothels, massage parlours, casinos and gambling houses, opium dens, bars, drug houses, and nightclubs, all establishments frequented by the triads. However, Diệm allowed criminal activity to finance his attempts to eliminate the Viet Minh in the south.{{cite web |url=https://thuvienhoasen.org/a16610/18-che-do-ngo-dinh-diem-va-van-de-buon-ban-nha-phien-pham-trong-luat |title=18- Chế Độ Ngô Đình Diệm Và Vấn Đề Buôn Bán Nha Phiến, Phạm Trọng Luật - PGVN 1963-1975 - THƯ VIỆN HOA SEN |work=THƯ VIỆN HOA SEN |access-date=2017-10-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022032506/https://thuvienhoasen.org/a16610/18-che-do-ngo-dinh-diem-va-van-de-buon-ban-nha-phien-pham-trong-luat |archive-date=2017-10-22 }} Law enforcement was stricter in the north, with stringent control and monitoring of criminal activities. The government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam purged and imprisoned organized criminals, including triads, in the Haiphong and Hanoi areas. With pressure from Ho Chi Minh's police, Triad affiliates had to choose between elimination or legality. During the Vietnam War, the triads were eliminated in the north; in the south, Republic of Vietnam corruption protected their illegal activities and allowed them to control US aid. During the 1970s and 1980s, all illegal Sino-Vietnamese activities were eliminated by the Vietnamese police. Most triads were compelled to flee to Taiwan, Hong Kong, or other countries in Southeast Asia.{{cite web|url=http://www.24h.com.vn/tin-tuc-quoc-te/hoi-tam-hoang-mot-thoi-vung-vay-tren-dat-viet-c415a807260.html|title=Hội Tam Hoàng: Một thời vùng vẫy trên đất Việt|first=Tin Tức|last=24h|website=24h.com.vn|access-date=27 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180427233202/https://www.24h.com.vn/tin-tuc-quoc-te/hoi-tam-hoang-mot-thoi-vung-vay-tren-dat-viet-c415a807260.html|archive-date=27 April 2018}}

Triads are also active in other regions with significant overseas-Chinese populations: Macau, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Peru, and Argentina. They are often involved in migrant smuggling. Shanty and Mishra (2007) estimate that the annual profit from narcotics is $200 billion, and annual revenues from human trafficking into Europe and the United States are believed to amount to $3.5 billion.Shanty, Frank; Mishra, Patit Paban [https://books.google.com/books?id=-L8B8ydtHZ4C&dq=%22sun+yee+on%22&pg=PA465 Organized crime: from trafficking to terrorism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430195223/https://books.google.com/books?id=-L8B8ydtHZ4C&dq=%22sun+yee+on%22&pg=PA465 |date=2023-04-30 }}, pg 138, Volume 2. {{ISBN|1576073378}} ABC-CLIO (September 24, 2007)

In Australia, the major importer of illicit drugs in recent decades has been 'The Company', according to police sources in the region. This is a conglomerate run by triad bosses which focuses particularly on methamphetamine and cocaine. It has laundered money through junkets for high-stakes gamblers who visit Crown Casinos in Australia and Macau.

In South Africa, Law Enforcement Authorities have claimed that several large independent subgroups of the Triad conduct large scale human trafficking, drug trafficking, money laundering, as well as operate prostitution and gambling rings.{{cite web | url=https://www.scmp.com/article/112645/triads-move-south-africa | title=Triads move in on South Africa | date=April 1995 | access-date=2023-05-04 | archive-date=2023-05-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504073352/https://www.scmp.com/article/112645/triads-move-south-africa | url-status=live }} South African authorities have identified four major Chinese gangs connected to the Triad operating in South Africa: the Wo Shing Wo group, the San Yee On group, the 14K-Hau group, and the 14K-Ngai group.{{cite web | url=https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/triad-societies-and-chinese-organised-crime-south-africa#:~:text=The%20authorities%20have%20identified%20four,each%20other%20in%20South%20Africa. | title=Triad Societies and Chinese Organised Crime in South Africa | Office of Justice Programs | access-date=2023-05-04 | archive-date=2023-05-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504073339/https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/triad-societies-and-chinese-organised-crime-south-africa#:~:text=The%20authorities%20have%20identified%20four,each%20other%20in%20South%20Africa. | url-status=live }} On November 22, 2022, a shoot-out between rival Triad factions took place on a crowded street in Cape Town, leaving several bystanders injured.{{cite web | url=https://www.news24.com/news24/triads-reached-boiling-point-20021122 | title=Triads reached 'boiling point' | access-date=2023-05-04 | archive-date=2023-05-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504073340/https://www.news24.com/news24/triads-reached-boiling-point-20021122 | url-status=live }}

The Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) is the division of the Hong Kong Police Force responsible for triad countermeasures. The OCTB and the Criminal Intelligence Bureau work with the Narcotics and Commercial Crime Bureaus to process information to counter triad leaders. Other involved departments include the Customs and Excise Department, the Immigration Department, and the Independent Commission Against Corruption. They cooperate with the police to impede the expansion of triads and other organized gangs.Hong Kong – The Facts: Police Police actions regularly target organised crime, including raids on triad-controlled entertainment establishments and undercover work. The journal Foreign Policy reported in its August 2019 edition, alleged triad involvement in repressing the Hong Kong protests.{{Cite web |last=Palmer |first=James |date=3 August 2019 |title=Why Is Hong Kong Erupting? |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/08/03/why-is-hong-kong-erupting-protests-china-extradition/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126080452/https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/08/03/why-is-hong-kong-erupting-protests-china-extradition/ |archive-date=2020-11-26 |access-date=2019-08-31 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}}

At the national (and, in some cases, provincial) level, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Organized Crime Branch is responsible for investigating gang-related activities (including triads). The Canada Border Services Agency Organized Crime Unit works with the RCMP to detain and remove non-Canadian triad members. Asian gangs are found in many cities, primarily Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton.

The Guns and Gangs Unit of the Toronto Police Service is responsible for handling triads in the city. The Asian Gang Unit of the Metro Toronto Police was formerly responsible for dealing with triad-related matters, but a larger unit was created to deal with the broad array of ethnic gangs.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The Organized Crime and Law Enforcement Act provides a tool for police forces in Canada to handle organized criminal activity. The act enhances the general role of the Criminal Code (with amendments to deal with organized crime) in dealing with criminal triad activities. Asian organized-crime groups were ranked the fourth-greatest organized-crime problem in Canada{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}, behind outlaw motorcycle clubs, aboriginal crime groups, and Indo-Canadian crime groups.

In 2011, it was estimated that criminal gangs associated with triads controlled 90 percent of the heroin trade in Vancouver.{{cite web|url=http://vancouver.ca/police/CrimeMaps/|title=Crime Heat Maps - Vancouver Police Department|website=vancouver.ca|access-date=27 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008202144/http://vancouver.ca/police/crimemaps/|archive-date=8 October 2017}} Due to its geographic and demographic characteristics, Vancouver is the point of entry into North America for much of the heroin produced in Southeast Asia (much of the trade controlled by international organized-crime groups associated with triads). From 2006 to 2014, Southeast, East and South Asians accounted for 21 percent of gang deaths in British Columbia (trailing only Caucasians, who made up 46.3 percent of gang deaths).{{cite web|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1403433/hong-kong-triads-supply-meth-ingredients-mexican-drug-cartels|title=Hong Kong triads supply meth ingredients to Mexican drug cartels|website=scmp.com|date=12 January 2014|access-date=27 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405232538/http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1403433/hong-kong-triads-supply-meth-ingredients-mexican-drug-cartels|archive-date=5 April 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://unitedgangs.com/2013/01/01/14k-triad/|title=14K Triad|date=1 January 2013|website=unitedgangs.com|access-date=27 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628222411/https://unitedgangs.com/2013/01/01/14k-triad/|archive-date=28 June 2017}}

In June 2022, commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, Reece Kershaw, stated at the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group that foreign governments were collaborating with criminal syndicates in the West and that: "state actors and citizens from some nations are using our countries at the expense of our sovereignty and economies".{{Cite news |date=2022-06-08 |title=Federal police warn foreign governments are supporting organised crime in Australia |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-08/five-eyes-law-enforcement-group-representatives-in-australia/101135068 |access-date=2022-08-23 |archive-date=2022-08-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823120010/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-08/five-eyes-law-enforcement-group-representatives-in-australia/101135068 |url-status=live }}

In August 2022, reporting by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation revealed that Hong Kong-based jewelry and real estate development conglomerate Chow Tai Fook was endorsed by the Queensland state government as a 25% shareholder in The Star casino's Queen's wharf development.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The Chow Fook Tai conglomerate is owned by Cheng Yu-tung, who was believed to have affiliations with the 14K triad and was alleged to have connections with Hong Kong and Macau organised crime syndicates, specifically through business connections with Wan Kuok Kui, "Broken Tooth", or "Broken Tooth Koi" in triad circles.{{Cite news |date=2022-08-21 |title=Revealed: Co-owner of $3.8bn casino development linked to notorious Chinese gangsters |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-22/star-brisbane-casino-chow-tai-fook-triad-links/101341862 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827072359/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-22/star-brisbane-casino-chow-tai-fook-triad-links/101341862 |archive-date=2022-08-27 |access-date=2022-08-27 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}{{Cite news |last1=Carreon |first1=Bernadette |last2=Belford |first2=Aubrey |last3=Young |first3=Martin |date=12 December 2022 |title=Pacific Gambit: Inside the Chinese Communist Party and Triad Push into Palau |url=https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/pacific-gambit-inside-the-chinese-communist-party-and-triad-push-into-palau |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project |archive-date=9 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209143543/https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/pacific-gambit-inside-the-chinese-communist-party-and-triad-push-into-palau |url-status=live }}

The 14K, Sun Yee On triads were believed to have been closely affiliated with Cheng and used as enforcers for the collection of gambling debts, in addition to being engaged in prostitution, human, and drug trafficking. Kui has been the subject of sanctions by the United States Department of Treasury under the Magnitsky Act for corruption, embezzlement, and "misappropriation of state assets" as of 2020.{{Cite news |last=Talley |first=Ian |date=2020-12-09 |title=U.S. Sanctions Gangster Known as 'Broken Tooth' for Corruption in China's Belt and Road |language=en-US |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-sanctions-chinese-man-close-to-beijing-initiative-for-alleged-graft-11607528444 |access-date=2022-08-27 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=2022-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827090729/https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-sanctions-chinese-man-close-to-beijing-initiative-for-alleged-graft-11607528444 |url-status=live }}

Primary laws addressing triads are the Societies Ordinance and the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance. The former, enacted in 1949 to outlaw triads in Hong Kong, stipulates that any person convicted of being (or claiming to be) an officeholder or managing (or assisting in the management) of a triad can be fined up to HK$1 million and imprisoned for up to 15 years.

The power of triads has also diminished due to the 1974 establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption. The commission targeted corruption in police departments linked with triads. Being a member of a triad is an offence punishable by fines ranging from HK$100,000 to HK$250,000 and three to seven years imprisonment under an ordinance enacted in Hong Kong in 1994, which aims to provide police with special investigative powers, provide heavier penalties for organized-crime activities, and authorize the courts to confiscate the proceeds of such crimes.

• Chaiyanat “Tuhao” Kornchayanant (a powerful Thai-Chinese businessman and crime boss who is accused of leading a Chinese mafia group in Bangkok).{{Cite web|url=https://www.chiangraitimes.com/news/triad-kingpin-arrested-assets-seized/|title=Alleged Triad Kingpin Surrenders, US$68 Million in Assets Seized|date=November 24, 2022|website=Chiang Rai Times|access-date=January 10, 2023|archive-date=January 10, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110094153/https://www.chiangraitimes.com/news/triad-kingpin-arrested-assets-seized/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |last= |first= |title=Officials squirm amid Chuvit's Triad exposé |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2478044/officials-squirm-amid-chuvits-triad-expos%C3%A9 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712225855/https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2478044/officials-squirm-amid-chuvits-triad-expos%C3%A9 |archive-date=2023-07-12 |access-date=2023-01-10 |newspaper=Bangkok Post|date= 9 January 2023|last1= Ngamkham|first1= Wassayos}}{{Cite news |title=Senators to probe links between Amlo and Tuhao |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2472300/senators-to-probe-links-between-amlo-and-tuhao |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712225944/https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2472300/senators-to-probe-links-between-amlo-and-tuhao |archive-date=2023-07-12 |access-date=2023-01-10 |newspaper=Bangkok Post|date=31 December 2022 }}
• Qi Guang Guo (a notorious Chinese Australian crime boss, known for being a high-ranking leader of the Big Circle Gang in Australia){{Cite web |last=Trask |first=Steven |date=June 18, 2017 |title=Alleged Triad boss Qi Guang Guo set for deportation 20 years after immigration bungle |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/alleged-triad-boss-qi-guang-guo-set-for-deportation-20-years-after-immigration-bungle-20170616-gwspw0.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116172816/https://www.smh.com.au/national/alleged-triad-boss-qi-guang-guo-set-for-deportation-20-years-after-immigration-bungle-20170616-gwspw0.html |archive-date=November 16, 2022 |access-date=November 16, 2022 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}{{Cite web |last=Trask |first=Michael Inman, Steven |date=March 4, 2018 |title=Alleged Triad boss Qi Guang Guo wins $35,001 for unlawful detention |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/alleged-triad-boss-qi-guang-guo-wins-35001-for-unlawful-detention-20180228-h0wsui.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116173438/https://www.smh.com.au/national/alleged-triad-boss-qi-guang-guo-wins-35001-for-unlawful-detention-20180228-h0wsui.html |archive-date=November 16, 2022 |access-date=November 16, 2022 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}
• Xie Caiping, one of the most notorious female criminals to be a high-ranking member within the triads; she is the most powerful criminal in Chongqing and is known by her nickname, "Godmother of the underworld". She was one of the convicted criminals in the Chongqing gang trials{{Cite news |last=Branigan |first=Tania |date=November 3, 2009 |title='Godmother of the underworld' jailed in China |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/nov/03/china-jails-godmother-underworld |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130013554/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/nov/03/china-jails-godmother-underworld |archive-date=January 30, 2018 |access-date=May 20, 2022 |newspaper=The Guardian}}{{Cite web |date=3 November 2009 |title=Chinese "Godmother" Sentenced to 18 Years |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chinese-godmother-sentenced-to-18-years/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520133413/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chinese-godmother-sentenced-to-18-years/ |archive-date=20 May 2022 |access-date=20 May 2022 |website=CBS News}}
• "Fei Kai", former leader of Wo On Lok{{Cite web |date=November 18, 2021 |title=Ex-Hong Kong triad boss victim of brutal knifing, police fear revenge attacks |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3156528/former-hong-kong-triad-boss-victim-brutal-knifing |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518011751/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3156528/former-hong-kong-triad-boss-victim-brutal-knifing |archive-date=May 18, 2022 |access-date=May 18, 2022 |website=South China Morning Post}}
• Zhang Naizhong, considered the boss of the chinese underworld in Italy, and one of the most powerful chinese crime bosses in Europe.{{Cite web |title=Chinese Underworld |url=https://investigativejournalismforeu.net/projects/chinese-underworld/ |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=IJ4EU |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Fulloni |first=Alessandro |date=2018-01-18 |title=Arrestato il capo dei capi della mafia cinese in ItaliaUna vita tra lusso e inchini |url=https://www.corriere.it/cronache/cards/inchini-riverenze-matrimonio-lusso-ferrari-lamborghini-manette-capo-capi-mafia-cinese/riverito-gli-inchini.shtml |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=Corriere della Sera |language=it}}
• Kwok "Shanghai Boy" Wing-hung, Wo Shing Wo's most notorious dragonhead{{Cite web |date=November 1, 2017 |title=Who is 'Shanghai Boy' Kwok Wing-hung? |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2117994/who-hong-kongs-alleged-triad-leader-shanghai-boy-kwok-wing |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520130618/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2117994/who-hong-kongs-alleged-triad-leader-shanghai-boy-kwok-wing |archive-date=May 20, 2022 |access-date=May 20, 2022 |website=South China Morning Post}}{{Cite web |date=November 23, 2020 |title='Shanghai Boy' arrested upon return to Hong Kong after years on the run |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3110918/alleged-ex-triad-boss-arrested-upon-return-hong-kong |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520130615/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3110918/alleged-ex-triad-boss-arrested-upon-return-hong-kong |archive-date=May 20, 2022 |access-date=May 20, 2022 |website=South China Morning Post}}
• Cheung "Inch Brother" Chung-wing, former leader of Wo Shing Wo{{Cite web |last=Standard |first=The |title=Ex-triad chief on run for bid to recruit cop |url=https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news/section/4/243306/Ex-triad-chief-on-run-for-bid-to-recruit-cop |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705050411/https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news/section/4/243306/Ex-triad-chief-on-run-for-bid-to-recruit-cop |archive-date=2022-07-05 |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=The Standard}}
• Wan Kuok-koi, former leader of the Macau branch of 14K
• Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, former leader of the American branch of Wo Hop To
• Peter Chong, former leader of the American branch of Wo Hop To
• Chen Chi-li, former leader of Bamboo Union, Taiwan's largest Triad
• Michael Chan, Hong Kong actor and martial artist, second-in-command of the Tsim Sha Tsui branch of 14K
• Stephen Tse, founder and leader of the Chinese-American triad Ping On
• Tse Chi Lop, Chinese Canadian kingpin, leader of Sam Gor, a powerful Asia-Pacific triad syndicate and former member of the Big Circle Gang
• John Willis, high-ranking member of Ping On, and the only white person to be a high-ranking member of a triad
• Tony Lee (a Chinese Irish businessman and restaurateur who was the dragonhead of the Irish branch of 14K until his murder in July 1979).{{cite web|url=https://www.sundayworld.com/crime/courts/restaurant-boss-who-attacked-kitchen-porter-was-involved-in-infamous-triad-battle/a1751683545.html|title=Restaurant boss who attacked kitchen porter was involved in infamous triad battle|website=Sunday World|date=2023-11-03|access-date=2024-06-11}}
• Lee Tai-lung (dragon head of Tsim Sha Tsui branch of Sun Yee On until his assassination on August 4, 2009).{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3047256/hong-kong-fugitive-wanted-connection-gruesome-slaying|title=Hong Kong fugitive wanted in connection with gruesome slaying of triad boss hands himself in to police after 10 years, and is charged with murder|website=South China Morning Post|date=2020-01-23|access-date=2024-06-11|archive-date=2024-06-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612024128/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3047256/hong-kong-fugitive-wanted-connection-gruesome-slaying|url-status=live}}
• Lai Tong-sang (dragon head of the Macau branch of Wo On Lok).{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1298685/macau-triad-boss-be-deported-canada|title=Macau 'triad boss' to be deported from Canada|website=South China Morning Post|date=2013-08-23|access-date=2024-06-11|archive-date=2024-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240917044923/https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1298685/macau-triad-boss-be-deported-canada|url-status=live}}
• Leung Kwok-chung, aka "Tattooed Chung" (high-ranking leader of the Tai Kok Tsui branch of Wo Shing Wo and the mastermind behind the murder of Lee Tai-lung, the dragon head of Tsim Sha Tsui branch of Sun Yee On).{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/735545/killing-triad-chief-was-revenge-loss-face|title=Killing of triad chief was 'revenge for loss of face'|website=South China Morning Post|date=2013-08-23|access-date=2024-06-11|archive-date=2024-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240917044921/https://www.scmp.com/article/735545/killing-triad-chief-was-revenge-loss-face|url-status=live}}

{{Portal|China}}

• List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates
• Organized crime in Taiwan
• Organised crime in Hong Kong
• Secret societies in Singapore
• Sio Sam Ong
• Snakeheads – Chinese human-trafficking groups
• Social problems in Chinatown
• Triads in the United Kingdom
• Xiantiandao

{{Reflist|30em}}

; Books (Triad societies)

• {{Cite book |last1=Bolton |first1=Kingsley |last2=Hutton |first2=Christopher |year=2000 |title=Triad societies: western accounts of the history, sociology and linguistics of Chinese secret societies |publisher=Taylor & Francis |ref=TriadSocieties}}
• {{Cite book |last=Booth |first=Martin |year=1999 |title=The Dragon Syndicates: The Global Phenomenon of the Triads |url=https://archive.org/details/dragonsyndicates0000boot |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=9780385409148 |oclc=1097228966}}
• {{Cite book |last=Chu |first=Y. K. |year=2002 |title=The Triads as Business |location=London; New York |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415170925 |oclc=41565059}}
• {{Cite book |last=Mallory |first=Stephen L. |year=2007 |title=Understanding Organized Crime |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning |ref=Understanding}}
• {{Cite book |last=Reynolds |first=John Lawrence |author-link=John Lawrence Reynolds |year=2006 |title=Secret societies: inside the world's most notorious organizations |publisher=Arcade Publishing |ref=SecretSocieties}}
• {{Cite book |last=Ter Haar |first=B. J. |year=1998 |title=Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads: Creating an Identity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4-cPOVH3moC |series=Sinica Leidensia 43 |isbn=9789004110632}}

; Books (Black societies or criminal organizations in mainland China)

• {{Cite book |last=Wang |first=Peng |title=The Chinese Mafia: Organized Crime, Corruption, and Extra-Legal Protection |date=2017-01-19 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-875840-2 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198758402.001.0001}}

; News

• Gertz, Bill; [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/30/organized-crime-triads-targeted "Organized-crime triads targeted"], The Washington Times (Friday, April 30, 2010). Retrieved 10 June 2013.
• Wong, Natalie; [https://web.archive.org/web/20141010212311/http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=36&art_id=107259&sid=30994212&con_type=3&d_str=20110121&isSearch=1&sear_year=2011 "Dragons smell blood again"], The Standard (January 21, 2011). Retrieved 10 June 2013.

; Government publication

• {{Cite web |title=Hong Kong – The Facts: Police|publisher=Information Services Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government|date=August 2010|url=http://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/factsheets/docs/police.pdf|ref=HKFacts}}

; Video'

• "Gangland- Deadly Triangle". Online video clip. YouTube, 2008. Web. Accessed 21 April 2016.

• {{cite journal |last = Ownby |first = David |title = The Heaven and Earth Society as Popular Religion |journal = The Journal of Asian Studies |volume = 54 |issue = 4 |pages = 1023–1046 |date = 1995 |jstor = 2059958 |doi = 10.2307/2059958 |s2cid = 162946271 }}

; Books

• {{Cite book |last=Lintner |first=Bertil |author-link=Bertil Lintner |title=Blood Brothers |date=2002 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |isbn=978-1-349-73128-2 |location=New York |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-1-137-06294-9}}

; Journal articles

• {{Cite journal |last=Lo |first=T. W. |date=2010-09-01 |title=Beyond Social Capital: Triad Organized Crime in Hong Kong and China |journal=British Journal of Criminology |language=en |volume=50 |issue=5 |pages=851–872 |doi=10.1093/bjc/azq022 |issn=0007-0955}}
• {{Cite journal |last=Purbrick |first=Martin |date=2019-05-27 |title=Patriotic Chinese Triads and Secret Societies: From the Imperial Dynasties, to Nationalism, and Communism |journal=Asian Affairs |language=en |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=305–322 |doi=10.1080/03068374.2019.1636515 |issn=0306-8374 |doi-access=free}}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Skarbek |first1=David |last2=Wang |first2=Peng |date=2015-10-02 |title=Criminal rituals |journal=Global Crime |language=en |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=288–305 |doi=10.1080/17440572.2015.1078242 |issn=1744-0572|url=https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/de49c6c7-4458-47a6-a6c4-95f03286f44c }}
• {{Cite journal |last=Wang |first=Peng |date=August 2013 |title=The Increasing Threat of Chinese Organised Crime: National, Regional and International Perspectives |journal=RUSI Journal |language=en |volume=158 |issue=4 |pages=6–18 |doi=10.1080/03071847.2013.826492 |issn=0307-1847}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Triads (underground society)|Chinese Triad}}

{{Organized crime groups in Asia}}

{{Organized crime groups in the United States}}

{{Canadian gangs}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Triad (organized crime)}}

Category:1760s establishments in China

Category:Chinese secret societies

Category:Crime in China

Category:Criminal subcultures

Category:Organized crime groups in Brazil

Category:Organized crime groups in China

Category:Organised crime groups in Hong Kong

Category:Organized crime groups in Macau

Category:Organized crime groups in Taiwan

Category:Secret societies related to organized crime

Category:Transnational organized crime

Category:United front (China)