Shenzhen police crack Sun Yee On ring
Shenzhen police said yesterday they had arrested at least 102 men in the city's Baoan district linked to Sun Yee On, one of Hong Kong's most powerful triads, and seized several hundred million yuan in gang assets.
The operation was one of the largest crackdowns on triads in Guangdong in recent years.
Police said the gang had been linked to more than 100 crimes, including several cases of murder, malicious injury, brawls, drug trafficking, operating prostitution business and extortion. The gang has also been accused of illegally controlling the local supply of natural gas, trading of building materials, waste recycling and real estate development for staggering profits.
The arrests come just weeks after the downfall of Chongqing Communist Party boss Bo Xilai, a long-time political rival of Guangdong counterpart Wang Yang. Bo was known for an anti-triad campaign in Chongqing that led to the detention of more than 5,442 suspects last year. Wang vowed last month that Guangdong would also crack down on triads.
Shenzhen deputy police chief Wang Guobin said the leader of Sun Yee On's branch in the city, Chen Yaodong, and other key triad members were among those arrested. He said four guns, 37 bullets and several hundred million yuan in assets had been seized from the gang.
Police said the Shenzhen branch of Sun Yee On was founded in the mid-1980s by Hong Kong triad member Chan Shek-por, who recruited mainlanders as members. Although the Shenzhen branch was subjected to a police crackdown in 1991, forcing Chan to flee back to Hong Kong, the gang continued to grow into a large triad with several hundred members, managed by Chan's nephew.
'The organisation mainly follows Hong Kong triad gang Sun Yee On's management model ... with a clear gang leader, hierarchy and several hundred members,' Shenzhen police said, adding that the gang operated dozens of companies, hotels and entertainment venues in the Shajing area of Baoan district.
