14K (triad)
| Founded | 1945 |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Kot Siu-wong |
| Founding location |  Guangzhou, Guangdong, China[1] |
| Years active | 1945-present |
| Territory | Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Macau, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe[2] |
| Ethnicity | Predominantly Cantonese, but also other Chinese ethnic groups[3] |
| Membership (est.) | 20,000[4] |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, arms trafficking, prostitution, people smuggling, home invasions, money laundering, extortion, illegal gambling, kidnapping, loan sharking, fraud and counterfeiting[5] |
| Allies | Tiandihui and Snakeheads[6] |
| Rivals | Sun Yee On and Shui Fong |
The 14K (十四K) is a Triad group based in Hong Kong but active internationally. It is the second largest Triad group in the world with around 20,000 members split into thirty subgroups. They are the main rival of the Sun Yee On, which is the largest Triad.[7] The 14K are responsible for large-scale drug trafficking around the world, most of it heroin and opium from China or Southeast Asia. This is their primary business in terms of generating income, but they are also involved in illegal gambling, money laundering, arms trafficking, prostitution, people smuggling, extortion, counterfeiting and, to a lesser extent, home invasion robberies.[8][9]
History
The 14K was formed by Kuomintang Lieutenant-General Kot Siu-wong in Guangzhou, China in 1945 as an anti-Communist action group. However, they relocated to Hong Kong in 1949 when the Kuomintang fled from the Communists following the Chinese Civil War. Originally there were fourteen members who were part of the Kuomintang, hence the name 14K.[10] However, some say that 14 stands for the road number of a former headquarters and K stands for Kowloon.[11]
During the 1990's, it was the "largest Triad in the world". In 1997, there were a number of gang-related attacks that left 14 people dead. Under Wan Kuok-koi (nicknamed "Broken Tooth Koi", 崩牙駒), the 14K was being challenged by the smaller Shui Fong Triad. The next year, a gunman believed to be connected to the local 14K killed a Portuguese national and wounded another at a sidewalk café in Macau. In 1999, a Portuguese court convicted 45-year-old mob boss Broken Tooth Koi on various criminal charges and sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment. His 14K gang was suspected of drive-by shootings, car bombings and attempted assassinations. Seven of his associates received lesser sentences.[12] Since the crackdown in Macau, the 14K triad resurfaced in North American cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago in the United States and Vancouver and Toronto in Canada[13]. In response to the massive publicity generated by Broken Tooth Koi, 14K dramatically lowered its public profile. Meanwhile, loan sharking and money laundering continue to be the primary sources of revenue for 14K in North America.[14]
In August 2008, the 14K were involved in a high-profile kidnapping of a Chinese family in New Zealand. The plan was to demand a ransom, but they were found before the money was paid.[15]
References
- ^ 14K Triad at AllExperts
- ^ Triads: The facts and details
- ^ Canada's Triad gangs
- ^ The Illuminated Lantern: Triads
- ^ Cracking down on the Triads
- ^ A rising threat from the Far East
- ^ Chinese Triads
- ^ Chinese Triads Part 2
- ^ Chinese Triads Part 3
- ^ Broken Tooth's 14K
- ^ Triads and organized crime in China
- ^ Broken Tooth Koi jailed
- ^ [http://www.gangresearch.net/ChicagoGangs/tongs/kimarticle4.html The Origin of Asian and Chinese Gangs in Chicago's Chinatown]
- ^ 14K: One of the world's largest Triads
- ^ Xin Xin's family flee over Triad gang threat