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Fall of the kingpin

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Kingpin of 'the Untouchables' drug lord Wong Kin-cheung was a careful man. He was so cautious that to ensure safety, he would conduct business naked inside the steam room of his four-storey brothel, bathhouse and gambling den in Fuzhou. Because of his wariness and meticulous operation, the heroin baron often boasted he was beyond the long arm of the law.

So his arrest on May 16 along with three other leaders of a global drug-smuggling ring in a covert operation involving mainland and American police has puzzled many familiar with his modus operandi.

Wong and his three partners - labelled the 'Untouchables' by Chinese authorities because it was believed they would never be caught - are today detained in Fujian province awaiting trial. They face execution, charged with large-scale drug trafficking.

The head of one of the world's largest drug operations, 56-year-old Wong - dubbed 'the Fatman' because of his girth - operated 'from the farms of Myanmar to the arms of addicts in the United States', according to one US law enforcement officer.

For years, he proved an elusive quarry because of his wily street sense and excellent managerial skills. 'He was very clever,' said Chief Superintendent Kenny Ip Lau-chuen, head of the Hong Kong Narcotics Bureau.

'Whenever he would talk about drug transactions, he would meet his clients in the bathhouse and make them strip off all their clothes. By doing this, he was able to check they had no weapons or recording devices hidden on them.'

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