Snakehead (gang)

Snakeheads

In	Fujian province, China
Years active	1990s-present
Territory	Chinese communities all round the world
Ethnicity	Chinese, mostly from Fujian
Membership	Unknown
Criminal activities	bribery, Hostage taking, Identity document forgery, Identity theft, Illegal immigration, money laundering, murder, Passport fraud, People smuggling, and Visa fraud
Allies	Mafia (Italy) Yakuza (Japan)
Rivals	Triads

Snakeheads (Chinese: 蛇頭; pinyin: shé tóu) are Chinese gangs that smuggle people to other countries. They are found in the Fujian region of China and smuggle their customers into wealthier Western countries such as those in Western Europe, North America, Australia, and some nearby wealthier countries such as Taiwan and Japan.

Snakeheads use various methods to get their customers to the West. They may employ the use of stolen or altered passports, improperly obtained visas, and bribes to move people from nation to nation until they arrive at their final destination. They also may use fake business delegations and tour groups as a way of beating immigration controls. The rate of payment for successful smuggling can be as high as US$70,000.

One notable Snakehead member is Cheng Chui Ping or "Sister Ping".

In popular culture

• In the Lincoln Rhyme novel, The Stone Monkey by Jeffery Deaver, the villain is a shadowy snakehead, nicknamed "the Ghost," who is intent on killing a family of Chinese immigrants who are the only witnesses alive who can identify him to the authorities.
• The Alex Rider novel Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz features snakeheads as the villains.
• In the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, one of the operations puts the player on a ship carrying illegal Vietnamese immigrants. The gangster running the operation is referred to as "the Snakehead."
• In the "Laughing Magician" story arc of the comic book Hellblazer, John Constantine enlists the aid of a snakehead gang boss.
• The 1980 Shaw Brothers production Lost Souls directed by Mou Tun Fei concerns the exploitation of illegal immigrants and features a gang of nasty snakeheads as the villains.
• The Oregon Files novel Dark Watch by Clive Cussler features snakeheads as minor villains.
• The Fringe episode "Snakehead" features a gang that smuggles immune-boosting parasites by feeding them to the Chinese immigrants that they are transporting.
• In an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit called "Debt", the detectives fight against a snakehead gang.
• The TV series Hawaii Five-0 (2010) featured a snakehead in the pilot episode who is sentenced to life imprisonment - later to be revealed as a subordinate of the archvillain Wo Fat.

See also

• People smuggling

References

• Thompson, Tony (2004). Gangs: A Journey into the heart of the British Underworld. ISBN 0-340-83053-0. 
• Keefe, Patrick Radden (April 24, 2006). "The Snakehead: The criminal odyssey of Chinatown's Sister Ping". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/04/24/060424fa_fact6. 

External links

• List of prices paid to human smugglers by immigrants from China and other countries.
• Keefe, Patrick Radden (2009). The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0385521307.