FBIS4-45239 "jptdd023__l94083"
JPRS-TDD-94-023-L JPRS Narcotics 27 March 1994
WEST EUROPE SPAIN

Heroin Trafficking Among Four `Tentacles' of Chinese Mafia

Heroin Trafficking Among Four `Tentacles' of Chinese Mafia 94ES0301B Madrid EL MUNDO in Spanish 27 Mar 94 p 71--FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY 94ES0301B Madrid EL MUNDO Spanish CSO [Article: "Tentacles of Crime"] [Text] "The success of the Dragon leaders is undeniable. In the last few months we have been forced to face an enormous problem, one with which we were not equipped to deal," says a police inspector working on the subject. The growth of Chinese mafias has been accompanied by a surge in illegal immigration. To smuggle large numbers of illegals into Spain, Chinese mafias have recourse to many techniques. Police suspect the Chinese crime syndicates are dispatching ships with holds crammed full of illegal immigrants; "cargo" is then off-loaded, on the high seas, into boats operated by drug smugglers now trafficking in human flesh. Police reached this conclusion after noting the sudden appearance of large numbers of Chinese citizens in Galicia. Also, some Chinese have been arrested approaching beaches in southern Spain in small Moroccan fishing boats. In large part, the success of Chinese mafia leaders derives from their unusual methods. The heads of the organizations all reside in Hong Kong or mainland China; their "delegations" in Europe keep their principal headquarters in London or Amsterdam. Third-level operatives are constantly on the move all over Europe, looking for illegal activities with the greatest profit potential and relocating to a new country as soon as they come to the notice of police. In Spain, they have concentrated on four areas: exploiting the "slave labor" of illegal immigrants, prostitution, extortion targeting the resident Chinese community, and heroin trafficking.
Turkish Decline
The Chinese organizations are well-structured and commercially sophisticated, a fact that has allowed them to displace other criminal syndicates. Thus there has been a decline in the activities of the Turkish mafia, which Spanish police had already been fairly successful in combatting over the last few years but which has lost even more ground to the Chinese, who distribute a better grade of heroin, "China white," at better prices and with reduced risk. In a few short months, the Chinese mafia have carved out a niche for themselves in the criminal underworld, and Spanish police are putting together teams of experts who--with advice from British and Dutch specialists--are beginning to map the confusing tangle of Chinese illegal organizations. So far, four "tentacles" have been identified in Spain. The biggest of the Chinese mafias is Sap Sie Kee, also know as "14 K." The organization was born during the civil war in China in the 1940's, and over time it has degenerated into a criminal ring specializing in the heroin traffic. Sap Sie Kee, believed to have more than 10,000 members worldwide, "commercializes" most of the heroin produced in Southeast Asia. In Spain, it has two modus operandi. First, it operates behind the "cover" of various businesses that specialize in importation of oriental food products. Second, it hires African immigrants and sends them to Thailand to serve as "mules" transporting illegal drugs. These operations sometimes leave visible traces. Several days ago, an African lost a leg after falling onto the subway tracks in downtown Madrid, shoved by three Chinese who took flight. Police theorize that he was shoved, in a dispute triggered by the disappearance of a heroin packet the African had promised to bring back from Bangkok, and that the Chinese were Sap Sie Kee mafiosi. A second group is called Sun Yee On, whose leaders live in mainland China; it specializes in illegal immigration. Sun Yee On recruits intending emigrants in China, loads them into boats in international waters near Hong Kong, and ships them all over the world. Depending on circumstances, emigrants pay between 1 and 2 million pesetas. To get them to their destinations, the syndicate resorts to unusual routings: In some cases, they are taken to airports and fly into Europe bearing false travel documents. In other cases, they travel hidden in the holds of merchant ships that drop them off on the coasts of Spain, France, or Italy. There have been instances where illegal immigrants have spent months on these "floating prisons," waiting for a propitious moment to disembark on the coast or at ports in defiance of the authorities.
Oriental Women
To make matters even more difficult for police, Sun Yee On in recent weeks has been using large numbers of false Mexican, Peruvian, and Bolivian passports in which false immigrant visas for Spain have been stamped. Once immigrants reach Barajas airport, the organization hides them for a short period of time, issues new travel documents, and then sends them onward from Madrid to the United States. Several weeks ago, police apprehended a number of Chinese immigrants using this route as they prepared to leave Spain for New York. The third organization is Wo On Lok, which specializes in pornographic videos, prostitution, and trafficking in children. It relocates women from the brothels of Manila and Bangkok and works them in Spanish bathhouses. In recent cases investigated by police, the women were collecting 15,000 pesetas from each client, were allowed to keep 1,500 for themselves, and turned over to their "protectors" profits that amounted to some 700,000 pesetas per month. The last of the groups working in Spain is called Dai Hoon and operates as a clandestine bank, providing ready cash at high interest rates. Illegal immigrants denied access to regular banks go to Dai Hoon, usually working themselves deeper and deeper into debt. The syndicate is also moving into "protection rackets" targeting the proprietors of Chinese restaurants and business establishments. Although there is some division of labor, all four mafias are involved in every domain. The organizations have an organic structure which they maintain with rigid military discipline. In general, each mafia is organized into three-person "cells," also known as "triads," in which one person, referred to as the "trusty," serves as chief and handles relations with other cells, while the other two are "foot-soldiers." To the latter fall the tasks of administering beatings, collecting debts, and murdering rivals when ordered to do so.
Sap Sie Kee (14 K)
This is the biggest crime syndicate in the world and has a budget bigger than that of many national governments. It specializes in heroin trafficking. It distributes all the drug production of Southeast Asia and has close to 10,000 members worldwide. A major headache for police everywhere, the organization was built out of remnants of the Nationalist army after its defeat by Mao Ze Dung.
Sun Yee On
Though involved in all types of criminal activity, its biggest money-makers are emigration and exploitation of "slave" labor. The organization's main headquarters are in the Chinese interior, in Fujian, the starting point for most clandestine departures. It does so much business that it no longer involves itself in sale of false documents. Now it transports boatloads of emigrants, dropping them off on the coasts of Europe and the United States.
Wo On Lok
This syndicate has a near monopoly on prostitution, the pornographic film industry, and child-trafficking for pedophiles. Its leaders are ensconced somewhere in the bowels of Hong Kong's brothel districts; it is mainly a syndicate of pimps. Wo On Lok's European headquarters are in Amsterdam, but it constantly shifts women around to increase profits. In Spain, it often markets its girls as "Japanese."
Dai Hoon
The very name of this mafia syndicate--which translates as "The Big Club"--suggests the image of a mutual support society. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, it is an illegal bank that lends money at usurious interest rates and ends up enslaving its clients. It acts as a clandestine bank, making loans for gambling purposes as well as to defray settling-in costs of illegal immigrants. It also extorts money from restaurants.