Triad (organized crime)
Chinese transnational organized crime syndicate / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A triad (traditional Chinese: 三合會; simplified Chinese: 三合会; Jyutping: saam1 hap6 wui6; Cantonese Yale: sāam hahp wúi; pinyin: sān hé huì) is a Chinese transnational organized crime syndicate based in Greater China with outposts in various countries having significant overseas Chinese populations.
Founded | 1885 |
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Named after | Union of Heaven, Earth and Water, Chinese mythology, and traditional folk religion customs |
Founding location | China (Zhengzhou, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou) |
Years active | 19th century–present |
Territory | China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, North America, Brazil,[1][2][3] Argentina,[4][5][6] Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Romania,[7] Bulgaria, South Africa and Russia |
Ethnicity | Chinese |
Activities | Extortion, protection, murder, assault, racketeering, human trafficking, sex trafficking, illegal gambling, loan sharking, counterfeiting, copyright infringement, kidnapping, robbery, Chinese film and music industries, especially Hong Kong film[8] and music industries, Taiwanese Film and music industries and Other's, Etc., drug trafficking, money laundering, arms trafficking, health care fraud, immigration fraud |
The triads originated from secret societies formed in the 18th and 19th centuries with the intent of overthrowing the then-ruling Qing dynasty. In 20th century, triads were enlisted by the Kuomintang (KMT) during the Republican era to assassinate political opponents and attack political enemies. Following the founding of the People's Republic of China and subsequent crackdowns, triads and their operations flourished in Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese communities.[9]
Since the Chinese economic reform, triads and other triad-like "black societies" re-emerged in mainland China.[9][10] In modern times, triads overseas have been alleged to have connections to the government of the People's Republic of China.[11][12][13][14]