The development of criminal triads and cartels in the Asian countries contributes significantly to transnational criminal activities because these criminal organizations often have the loose structure, and they are decentralized. The 14K is one of the most influential triads in the world which operates in Hong Kong and internationally during more than 60 years (Smith, Zhang, & Barberet, 2011, p. 231). It is possible to state that the sub-branches of the triad are presented in the majority of countries where the Chinese communities are significant. Being one of the largest transnational criminal organizations globally, the 14K does not depend on the strict structure, operates according to the principles of secrecy, and it is rather difficult to bring the organization to justice as the influential triad.
The 14K’s History, Structure, and Operations
The 14K was founded by Lieutenant-General Kot Siu-wong in 1947 as the military association to support the activities of the Nationalist Party which developed in Guangdong province. Thus, the association was political in its character, and it included more than 300,000 participants in the 1950s. The Nationalist Party did not succeed on the political arena of the country, and the military association as the underground organization of a political character degenerated into one of the most influential criminal organizations in the world (Bolton & Hutton, 2000, p. 80).
First, the triad was named as the “14 Association”, and then the organization “adopted the suffix ‘K’. This was derived from the symbol for ‘karat’ gold which is harder and stronger than the soft local type of gold” (Bolton & Hutton, 2000, p. 82). More than 300,000 participants of the triad belonged to different sub-branches which followed different development paths. Thus, several sub-branches remained to be focused on the political issues when the majority of groups became focused mainly on criminal activities.
The 14K is characterized by the decentralized and flexible structure because the triad includes several criminal gangs performing different activities and operating globally. The 14K gangs are presented in the United Kingdom, Holland, the USA, Canada, and in Australia. In Canada, the 14K gangs are most organized, and they are inclined to follow the traditional rank system (Shanty & Mishra, 2008, p. 466). The absence of strict discipline and rules for the activities of sub-branches contributes to enhancing the criminal power of the gangs which declare rules independently. As a result, it is rather difficult to determine the leaders of the sub-branches to bring them to justice. Today, 15 subgroups operate in Hong Kong and globally, but the concrete number of criminal gangs is unknown to the police in Hong Kong and in the countries with the large Chinese communities (Shanty & Mishra, 2008, p. 466). The operations of different subgroups belonging to the 14K mostly include drug-trafficking activities, illegal trade, prostitution, and gambling.
The Role of the Transnational Structure of the 14K and the Organization’s Sources and Customers
The other organization’s activities are also dependent upon the transnational structure of the 14K. Thus, the most influential sub-branches of the triad chose to monopolize the drug-trafficking business not only in Hong Kong but also in the other countries. The drug-trafficking business depends on the constant transnational financial operations, and the presence of the subgroups in many countries of the world contributes significantly to the progress of the triad. Furthermore, during the 1990s-2000s, the leaders of the triad’s sub-branches invested actively in the European and United States’ legitimate businesses in order to increase the impact of the triad and contribute to the sub-groups’ local power and importance (Lyman, 2010, p. 312). It is important to note that the 14K sub-groups are the affiliated organizations. These organizations are not the extensions of the Hong Kong’s gangs, and this fact contributes to making the triad more powerful because of attracting more independent resources to support the organization.
The organization’s primary sources to develop the illegal activities are associated with the gangs’ resources. Today, the 14K is not sponsored by politicians or any political organizations. The sub-groups are developed as a result of their illegal activities which are rather profitable. Drug-trafficking and gambling businesses involve the significant financial resources, and the progress of the triad depends on the transnational flow of these finances between different independent sub-groups as the members of the triad. The decentralized character of the triad allows the significant flexibility in relation to organizing the illegal activities as the part of the secret transnational operations. The customers of drug-trafficking and gambling businesses are often persons who are associated with the criminal world (Lyman, 2010, p. 312). However, there are situations when other people are also involved in gangs’ activities as victims of the illegal operations.
How the State Corruption Can Enable the Organization
The development and success of the 14K is not associated with the significant state’s corruption because of the attempts of the Independent Commission against Corruption in Hong Kong. The Independent Commission against Corruption is the powerful law agency which is established to predict and control the expansion of corruption in the city (Smith, Zhang, & Barberet, 2011, p. 231). If corruption in Hong Kong and China is under the government’s control, the situations in the other countries where the 14K operates are different, and this fact means that illegal transnational operations become the everyday reality because of the inability of states to control the progress of the organized crime.
However, in some cases, the development of the 14K is associated with the state’s corruption directly, and more attention should be paid to the progress of the uncontrolled drug-trafficking and gambling businesses which develop in Hong Kong in spite of their illegal character. The possibility to realize the transnational operations contributes to the increase of these businesses significantly because of breaking the barriers for the organized crime globally.
International Attempts to Confront the Organization
While speaking about the international attempts to confront the organization and to bring the 14K to justice, it is necessary to state that the international law enforcement agencies failed to confront the triad because of its secret character and because of the fact that it was possible to cope only with separate sub-groups, but not with the whole triad. The specific character of the triad’s organization means that different sub-branches located globally can perform different activities and discuss themselves as the sub-groups belonging to the 14K.
This situation provides these criminal gangs with the opportunity to receive the help from the criminal organizations belonging to the triad and to realize the significant illegal transnational operations (Smith, Zhang, & Barberet, 2011, p. 230). It is rather difficult for the global law enforcement agencies to control the transnational activities of the gangs, but the progress of the technologies to facilitate the international communication contributed not only to the development of illegal activities but also to the improvement of the law enforcement agencies’ approaches to coping with the illegal businesses.
In spite of the fact that the 14K is the third largest triad in the world, its activities are controlled with references to the Hong Kong laws on having and distributing firearms and with references to the modern computer technologies to identify the members of the groups and their locations. To prevent the development of the triad’s illegal businesses, the Hong Kong Police acts in cooperation with the Mainland Chinese Police (Smith, Zhang, & Barberet, 2011, p. 231).
Referring to the transnational operations and international activities of the triad’s groups, it is necessary to note that international law enforcement agencies are rather effective to cope with the cases associated with the gambling business in such countries as the United States, Canada, and Australia. The international agencies are rather successful to identify and arrest the leaders of the gambling business in the mentioned countries because they belong to the 14K, but it is rather difficult to bring all the sub-groups of the 14K to justice as a result of the international agencies’ efforts.
Conclusion
Today, the international investigation and law enforcement agencies are rather ineffective to prevent and control the activities of the triads because of their transnational character, decentralized structure, and followed principles of secrecy. Being one of the largest and influential triads in the world, the 14K realizes the illegal operations during more than 60 years. This fact supports the idea that the organized crime develops globally, and its transnational character can be discussed as the threat to the global community because of the scope of the illegal activities performed by criminal organizations in the world. Referring to the example of the 14K, it is important to note that the realized actions are not enough to solve the problem of the organized crime globally.
References
Bolton, K., & Hutton, C. (2000). Triad societies: Triad societies in Hong Kong. USA: Taylor & Francis.
Lyman, M. (2010). Drugs in society: Causes, concepts and control. USA: Elsevier.
Shanty, F., & Mishra, P. (2008). Organized crime: From trafficking to terrorism. USA: ABC-CLIO.
Smith, C., Zhang, S., & Barberet, R. (2011). Routledge handbook of criminology. USA: Routledge.