Asian Organized Crime

[Icey_old]

Asian Organized Crime

 

The criminal threat from Asian organized crime (AOC) is significant. Their illegal activities in counterfeit merchandise — such as cigarettes and software alone — cost businesses in California millions of dollars each year. AOC is considered a transnational crime group because members pursue their criminal enterprises across country boundaries and are highly organized with connections in numerous countries. AOC’s criminal activities include illegal immigration, smuggling, human and drug trafficking, technology theft, and commercial theft. In California, AOC groups can be divided into the following three main groups: Chinese, Korean, and Japanese organized crime groups. There have also been some miscellaneous groups operating in California — such as the Big Circle Boys and the Black Dragons — that do not fit into these categories.

 

Chinese groups can be divided into the traditional groups — such as the 14K, the Wo Hop To, and the United Bamboo — and the non-traditional groups — such as the Wah Ching and the Jackson Street Boys. The difference between traditional groups and non-traditional groups is that the traditional groups have direct ties to the triads — secret criminal societies — in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Triads, which influence members through their financial power and worldwide business and personal connections, enable triad members in one country to initiate a criminal enterprise with members in another country. They have long histories and can be traced back hundreds of years. On the other hand, non-traditional groups are not subsidiary of groups based in Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan. These groups originated elsewhere, but many have ties to the traditional groups for business purposes. Both traditional and non-traditional Chinese organized crime groups are present in California and, at one time or another, controlled most of the criminal activity in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The Wo Hop To, United Bamboo, Wah Ching, Jackson Street Boys, and 14K have been active in Northern California as well as Southern California. They commit crimes such as extortion, fraud, money laundering, gambling, loan sharking, prostitution, robbery, and murder.

 

 

Present AOC Groups (2004-TODAY)

 

• Korean groups were first recognized as organized crime groups — known as “pas” — by the Korean government in 1950 and are classified into one of two categories – political or entertainment. The political “pas” were hired by current or former government offi cials to infiltrate the government or political parties with the intention to overthrow their power. The entertainment “pas” control bars, nightclubs, and casinos. In Korea, the two groups – political and entertainment – will occasionally work together toward a common goal. In the early 1990s, Korean authorities increased action against Korean organized crime members; and, as a result, some of the older leaders fled the country. Some came to the United States and reestablished their criminal enterprises in Los Angeles’ Koreatown. These criminal groups operate in the same manner as in Korea and commit criminal activities such as drug traffi cking, money laundering, extortion, home-invasion robberies, loan sharking, prostitution, insurance fraud, and alien smuggling. Korean organized crime groups — such as the Asian Town Koreans and the Korean Town Mobsters — are present in Orange County, California.

 

• The Japanese organized crime group — the Yakuza — operates on an international scale. In their culture, Yakuza members are considered the “bad hands of society” and enjoy being outcasts. In recent years, Japanese citizens have begun protesting the Yakuza. Japanese citizens do not want them in their neighborhoods, and the protests have resulted in some Yakuza being forced out of their businesses in certain locations. This may be an indication that the Yakuza is declining in power in Japan, and its members may be looking elsewhere in the world for more lucrative locations.

 

• Yakuza is present in California — primarily Southern California — and has been active in such criminal enterprises as extortion, gun smuggling, narcotics, gambling, and prostitution. The prostitution business has been especially lucrative and mainly caters to Japanese nationals traveling in California. The Yakuza has alliances with the Korean and Vietnamese gangs as well as the Chinese triads. In Japan, there are some 110,000 Yakuza members. Members and associates in Southern California are involved in narcotics trafficking, gun smuggling, pornography, slavery, loan sharking, prostitution, money laundering, and extortion. California has also become a favorite investment spot for the Yakuza. The top areas for investment for Yakuza members in California appear to be Los Angeles, San Diego, Anaheim, and San Francisco. The Yakuza used real estate purchases in California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii to launder money. In Los Angeles, “front” operations include restaurants, sushi bars, bars, resort property, auto repair, auto export, and investment groups.

 

 

Prostitution and smuggling are two of the mainstays of Asian organized crime pursuits. Women are enticed to the United States with promises of jobs; but, after arriving, many are forced into prostitution as a means of paying for their smuggling fees that can range from $35,000 to $50,000. Smuggling conditions can be very brutal; and, once here, the women are coerced into prostitution with threats and intimidation to themselves and to their families back home. Counterfeit movies and software programs are also big profi t pursuits for AOC. Operations range from making copies on personal computers to productions using full-size industrial equipment that are able to mass produce discs. At these industrial operations, usually 50,000 copies of any one item is made at a cost of about $1 per disc. Counterfeiters are able to produce very authenticlooking fakes that consumers would have a diffi cult time detecting as counterfeit.

 

During 2004, members of AOC groups were engaged in the following criminal activity:

 

• In January, an interstate counterfeit cigarette smuggling operation was dismantled after a four-year investigation. Ten suspects were arrested; and $18.8 million worth of cigarettes were seized in Encinitas, California, and in Texas, New Mexico, New York, and Florida. One suspect was arrested on a 92-count indictment for operating an interstate smuggling operation for cigarettes with a retail value of more than $37 million. The smugglers used two methods to get the cigarettes into the country: (1) cigarettes allowed into the United States duty free for shipment out of the country but were instead diverted to New York and California for sale; and (2) the purchase of counterfeit cigarettes in Taiwan and China for shipment to the United States in containers marked as toys or plastic goods. These types of operations cost California from $130 million to $270 million in lost revenue every year.

 

• Also in January, four brothels were raided in San Francisco, California, that resulted in the arrest of two women and the detainment of ten prostitutes. The brothels are believed to be part of an international smuggling ring that illegally brings Asian women into the United States and then forces them to work as prostitutes to repay their smuggling fee. The ring is believed to be part of an operation with brothels in Canada; Los Angeles, California; Houston, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; and New York, New York. After working in one brothel for a period of time, the women are transported to a different one in a different city. The prostitutes were from Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Korea, Thailand, and Shanghai. One of the ringleaders was charged in federal court with conspiracy to traffi c women in prostitution across state and U.S. borders and harboring illegal aliens.

 

• In September, 11 people were arrested in California, Washington, and Texas after a two-year investigation. They were charged with conspiring to distribute counterfeit computer software and documentation worth a retail value of $30 million. During a search of the suspect’s home, an additional $56 million worth of counterfeit products was discovered. The defendants were indicted by a grand jury in Los Angeles and, if convicted, face sentences of 15 to 75 years.

 

• In October, a raid on a massage parlor in San Francisco identifi ed 17 prostitutes believed to have been smuggled into the United States to work as prostitutes. Most of the women claimed they had been kidnapped and brought to the United States against their will. Seized in the raid was $17,000. An additional $40,000 was seized from the home of one of the suspected brothel owners. Two individuals were charged with harboring illegal immigrants.

[Benny Black]

Damn homie. That shit tight!

[Sacred]

nice guide

[SOLID24]

Good shit.