The Triads (Chinese mafia)

The name "triad" was coined by British authorities in Hong Kong. Triads is a term that describes many branches of Chinese underground society and/or criminal organizations based in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Malaysia and Mainland China, and also in Western countries and cities with significant Chinese populations such as Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Their activities include car theft, contract killing, drug trafficking, extortion, money laundering, gambling, prostitution, and other forms of racketeering. A major source of the triad's income today comes from the counterfeiting of copyrighted and trademarked goods such as clothing, coin counterfeiting, computer software, counterfeit money, handbags, music, CDs, watches and movie VCDs/DVDs.^{[citation needed]} They also trade in endangered species as well as bootleg tobacco and alcohol products.

The Triad was reportedly the largest triad gang worldwide in the mid-1990s. It was formed after the Second World War and the Chinese Civil War, with the Kuomintang fleeing the Communist Chinese. In 1997 there were a number of gang related attacks that left 14 people dead. The triad under Wan Kuok-koi (nicknamed Lit. Broken Tooth Koi) was being challenged by the smaller Shui Fong ( Lit. Water Room, originated from a workers' union of the legacy Hong Kong ...