Teddy Hung Hon-yee says that in his prime in the 1970s he supplied much of the heroin in Hong Kong.
As a top boss for the 14K triad his turf stretched all over To Kwa Wan, running the gang's gambling rooms, opium dens and go-go bars. He had more than enough power and money and wasn't even 40.
Sitting in a makeshift office - converted shipping containers overlooking a vacant lot in Yuen Long - Hung, now 61, looks back on the path that led him to organised crime boss.
Wearing a simple, dark-green jacket and faded blue jeans, Hung looks mellow but spirited. His face is lined and occasionally he needs a magnifying glass to help him read.
He recalls the road that took him to prison, to managing one of the city's biggest nightclubs and to where he is now - a servant of God, he says, who wants to make up for the pain he caused.
'I realise what I did was horrible,' Hung says. 'It destroyed many people and shattered many families.'
While Hung says his days as a triad have passed, the police are not convinced, last month naming him a Tsim Sha Tsui faction leader of the 14k and arresting him during a sweep of the area.