| With the repeal of the Prohibition Act, organized crime syndicates needed a replacement for their moonshine contraband, which would be just as profitable as the bootlegged alcohol was in the 20�s. When opiates where declared illegal in 1945, with the end of WWII, the golden egg presented itself. The Triads, who have traditionally controlled the production and shipment of opium, and its more potent form, heroin, became the suppliers to the United States and the world. The Golden Triangle is the point of origin for more than half of the world�s heroin. In 1995 at least 60 percent of the worlds heroin was created in the Golden Triangle consisting of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. Frequently its destination is in New York with more than 56 percent of all heroin seized by the DEA being in New York. �Raw opium, which cost US$100 at source, could be refined into heroin with a street value of US$5,000.� (Booth 258) "A unit of heroin (700 grams) currently costs between $60,000 and $80,000 wholesale. That price increases when Chinese sell to non-Chinese, up to $140,000 per unit." (US Hearings 100) "Statistics and the reports of law enforcement indicate a resurgence of heroin importation fueled largely by Chinese crime groups. Southeast Asian heroin, which is also known as 'China White' and is trafficked by Chinese crime groups, has assumed a steadily increasing percentage of the U.S. heroin market share in recent years... The June, 1991 seizure by federal authorities of 1,080 pounds of 90 percent pure China White heroin in Hayward, California illustrates the incredible level at which Southeast heroin is being smuggled." (GD 1991 88) The purity of the drug is also increasingly on the rise. DuBo Although gambling may not be as lucrative as trafficking in narcotics, it has always been a major source of revenue and the core criminal activity of the Triads. The Chinese themselves always enjoy games of chance. Gambling is common in Chinese communities worldwide, �the Chinese being a nation of gamblers.� (Booth 237) Gambling is involved in everything from Mah Jiang to horseraces to casinos, with everything in between. Mah jiang parlors and casinos are usually the place in which triads are prevalent. Mah jiang is considered the national pastime of the Chinese, and thus it is generally free from police intervention. (Booth 238) Casinos are even more profitable than mah jiangand are often intertwined with money laundering and other crimes. �Casinos the world over are highly efficient laundromats and there is little the proprietors can do about it, even if they want to.� Macao, which allows gambling and is the Las Vegas of the Orient, �has become the convention center for Triad societies� in Asia. (Booth 242) Follow the Money Money laundering is referred to as a white-collar crime and not as serious as murder or robbery can be, but in most cases it �masks a destructive, often bloody reality." �Drug cartels, arms traffickers� and common criminal organizations� launder their dirty money, making it appear as the product of legitimate business.� (Wechsler 40) If money laundering is evident, it is usually connected with other more violent crimes. The most popular venue of laundering money, after casinos, is banks. Especially the banks located in places like Switzerland or the Cayman Islands, which are notoriously reluctant to disclose information on their clients. Certain features they provide are attractive to money launderers: they possess stable political and economic situations, professional work forces, and physical proximity to more tightly regulated financial centers. The Cayman Islands, which has 35,000 inhabitants has bank assets that exceed US $670 billion. Switzerland has up to US $2.3 trillion, of which, more than half of them is from foreign customers. (Weschler 42) �International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Michel Camdessus estimated in 1998 that money laundering represented two to five percent of the global GDP-that is, between $800 billion and $2 trillion per year.� The U.S. Treasury loses $70 billion annually through offshore tax evasions by individuals. (Weschler 44) Even on Wall Street, money is being laundered. �It is unavoidable that much of the world�s dirty money flows through these financial centers [New York, London], given their size, the architecture of the international banking system, and the desirability of placing criminal funds where they can be of most use.� (Weschler 46) Money may also be laundered when goods are sold at extremely under priced or overpriced goods to a business partner overseas, who then in turn, will cash them in for a more realistic market value. This enables money to be processed without the observance of cash cops. Last year launderers used this procedure to move $131 billion out of the United States, alone. The following is a receipt that is an example of how this is accomplished. (Tanz 32) Receipt $5,236.00 for 6-volt batteries $1.13 for ceramic sink $555.73 for forklift truck $0.78 for diamond, 1 carat $3,395 for binoculars Home Invasion Robberies Home invasion robberies are frequently used as a means of the lower rungs of the Triads to earn income. Sometimes home invasion robberies are committed in conjunction with gambling. Winners at gambling parlors are often targets of these robberies. (US Hearings 127) A triad member will be appointed to watch a certain �high-roller� in a casino or illegal gambling den and will then follow the prospective victim home. They will case the place of residence and come back at a later date, terrorizing their victim. The benefit the Triads have of robbing people of their own nationality is that they understand their victims. Chinese have traditionally had distrust for banks. (Booth 241) They instead keep all their valuables and cash hidden away in various places of their residence, in sock drawers, coat pockets, etc. (Sack 2) Additionally, the victims very rarely file complaints with the police fearing retaliation from the perpetrator or distrust towards the governmental law enforcement agency. Especially if the victim is an illegal immigrant. "Law enforcement has had a difficult time preventing and prosecuting home invasions. Many go unreported because of intimidation of victims..." (US Hearings 105) Although home invasion robbery is not as financially productive as other crimes, it is a tried and true method of crime, which can be committed with relative ease and minimal consequences. Prostitution Prostitution is as prolific in Triad society as any other vice. "The influx of unattached Chinese immigrants [to America]...in the last 20 years has caused the demand for Asian prostitutes to rise significantly." (US Hearings 99) For the most part, Triads are largely in control of prostitution in Hong Kong. "Massage parlors" set up in the United States, which especially cater to Asian males, are almost always Triad involved. (US Report 36) �The practice [of prostitution] dates back 150 years, when expatriate Chinese communities were predominantly male. Triads imported girls for Chinese men who either did not wish to mix with local women or were barred from doing so. The girls, usually teenagers and sometimes as young as twelve, were often purchased from families who sold them to avoid loss of face at the inability to provide a dowry. Prostitutes today are not usually sold, but are enticed abroad with promises of a better life working as a waitress, domestic servant or shop-girl. The reality of the promise is bitter: they arrive in a foreign land, often illegally, unable to speak the local language and virtually trapped. When a Triad prostitute reaches the end of her working life, usually by the age of thirty, several courses of action lie ahead. She may be sold, often to the Middle East, become a Triad employee� or if lucky, she may be given her freedom.� Illegal Immigration Alien smuggling is another illegal activity that goes hand in hand with others. Many prostitutes are provided to the Triads as a result of alien smuggling. Alien smuggling is a very big business with a high profit margin. Fuzhou is the main departure point for illegal immigrants in China because of the much less than desirable economy of the region. �An estimated 85 percent of Chinese illegal immigrants originate from Fujian, the southern coastal province across the strait from Taiwan.� (Bolz 150) Possible migrants are charged for passage to the United States, which in 1995 averaged US $31,000 and can run as high as $50,000 per person. (Booth 254) Usually the aliens being smuggled do not pay the entire charge before departure. As one INS agent stated, "If you have $30,000 and live in Fujian province, there is no reason to leave because you are one of the richest people there." In such cases, the alien, or his relatives, become indebted to the smuggling organization. (US Hearings 107) The trip can take up to two years as the migrant changes from port to port through triad-owned travel agencies. Most Americans are not aware of the magnitude of the situation presented by alien trafficking, despite a well-known example of the excessive numbers involved in the business by the Golden Venture incident. In 1993, the Golden Venture, a small Panamanian vessel, ran aground in New York Harbor, 200 meters off a public beach. Onboard were 281 illegal immigrants, six of who drowned trying to swim to shore. Each passenger had paid between US $15,000 and US $35,000 for the journey, of which half to two-thirds of this price is profit for the smuggling agency. That adds up to at least US $4 million for a boatload of illegal immigrants. It is estimated that there are up to 100,000 illegal aliens smuggled into the United States every year. This leaves the profit margin of the Triads in the billions. It is also less risky: it does not entail the severe penalties that are associated with drug charges. It is only punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in jail. �Most who are convicted under current laws are sentence to less than six months.� (Bolz 148) Originally the conventional headquarters for triad smuggling activities has been Hong Kong. However, recently the most active smuggling groups are predominantly based in Taiwan. �Wherever the Taiwanese government has made significant loans or grants and wherever large-scale investment has been made in establishing export oriented industrial facilities, the smuggling of people and commodities has followed.� (Bolz 149) Currently Taiwan has relationships with at least 16 Latin American countries. Computer Chip Theft High-tech crimes, especially computer chip theft, may be one of the most desirable kinds of theft that can possibly be committed by Triads. Computer chip theft has been referred to as the "perfect crime" by law enforcement agencies. (US Hearings 129) Once chips are stolen, they are practically untraceable because the chips have no registration numbers. �They can move from the thief to a middleman, back out to a distributor without anyone knowing they�re hot. They are worth far more than their weight in gold. Police in San Jose, California estimate that Silicon Valley companies lose about $1 million a week due to theft.� (Educom 5) While stolen jewelry is sold for 20 percent of its value, computer chips can be resold for as much as 80 percent. Additionally, few cases have been prosecuted successfully, "because the lack of registration numbers makes it virtually impossible to build a case against the perpetrators, although indictments have been handed down in Austin, Texas and Oklahoma City." (US Hearings 110) The various crimes of Triad organizations have only been increasing in recent years. With the current influx of Asian organized crime members and rises in membership in the United States, greater attention should be paid to its consequences. Currently the American public is quite unaware of the status quo pertaining Asian organized crime, compounding the difficulties encountered by law enforcement. A greater awareness should be awakened in the public as with better training and coordination between the many agencies of law enforcement. If the necessary steps are not taken then the proliferation of Asian organized crime will continue unchecked. |
| Chinese Triads Cont. Page 2 |
| Copyright of Annie Le Blanc. 2001. |
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