Up next in 10
Hong Kong, 1997. As the British flag comes down, men in black suits gather in temple basements, mixing blood with wine in ancient ceremonies. These are the Triads—2.5 million members strong and about to inherit one of the world’s richest cities.
Discover how secret societies born from 17th-century rebellion evolved into a modern criminal empire worth hundreds of billions. From controlling Hong Kong’s film industry to running global human trafficking networks, from ancient blood oaths to cryptocurrency operations, the Triads have achieved what no other crime organization has managed—becoming too essential to eliminate. Learn why the Chinese government tolerates them, how they’ve infiltrated legitimate businesses worldwide, and why everyone in Hong Kong knows which restaurants pay protection money.
Are the Triads an unavoidable part of Chinese culture or a removable cancer? Can ancient crime societies survive modern technology?
Share your thoughts and subscribe for more investigations into the world’s most powerful criminal organizations.
Inside the 2.5 Million Member Chinese Crime Empire
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Hong Kong, 1997.
0:02
The British flag comes down for the last
0:05
time as China takes control. In the
0:08
shadows of gleaming skyscrapers, men in
0:11
black suits gather in a temple basement.
0:14
They slice their palms, drip blood into
0:17
a bowl of rice wine, and swear an oath
0:20
that dates back 300 years. These aren't
0:24
government officials celebrating the
0:25
handover. They're triad members and
0:28
they've just inherited one of the
0:30
world's richest cities. How does a
0:33
criminal organization grow to 2.5
0:35
million members, larger than most
0:37
armies, and operate openly in the
0:39
world's most surveiled nation? How do
0:42
ancient secret societies evolve into
0:44
modern corporations worth hundreds of
0:46
billions, controlling everything from
0:48
Hollywood films to human trafficking
0:50
routes? The Chinese triads aren't just
0:53
organized crime. They're a parallel
0:55
government, a shadow economy, and a
0:58
cultural phenomenon that touches every
1:00
corner of Chinese life. But here's what
1:03
makes them truly terrifying. Unlike the
1:06
Italian mafia or Mexican cartels, the
1:09
triads have achieved something
1:11
unprecedented.
1:12
They've become legitimate. They own
1:15
banks, casinos, film studios, and
1:18
shipping companies. They have members in
1:21
parliaments, police forces, and
1:23
intelligence agencies.
1:26
They've turned crime into culture and
1:28
culture into power. So, get ready to
1:31
dive into the secret world of the
1:33
Chinese triads, where ancient blood
1:36
oaths meet modern technology and 2.5
1:39
million criminals operate under the nose
1:42
of the world's most authoritarian
1:44
government. Act one, born from
1:48
rebellion.
1:49
The truth is, we don't know much about
1:51
the triad's earliest origins because
1:54
they were designed to be unknowable. But
1:57
their documented history begins in 1644
2:01
when the Ming dynasty fell to Manurion
2:03
invaders who established theQing
2:06
dynasty. Loyal Ming supporters formed
2:09
secret societies to overthrow the
2:12
foreign rulers, adopting the motto,
2:14
"Overthrow theqing, restore the Ming."
2:17
These weren't criminals. They were
2:19
revolutionaries.
2:21
Monks, scholars, and warriors who used
2:24
secret handshakes, coded language, and
2:27
blood oaths to identify allies. They
2:30
called themselves the Heaven and Earth
2:32
Society, or Hongmen, meaning vast gate.
2:36
They developed elaborate initiation
2:38
ceremonies involving 36 oaths, each
2:42
violation punishable by death. New
2:46
members walked under cross swords, drank
2:48
blood mixed with wine, and burned yellow
2:51
paper, listing their vows. But there was
2:55
a problem. Revolutions are expensive.
2:58
The societies needed funding for
3:00
weapons, safe houses, and bribes. They
3:04
turned to what they knew. Protection
3:06
rackets for merchants, gambling dens for
3:09
fundraising, and smuggling to move
3:12
supplies. What began as revolutionary
3:14
necessity became profitable habit. By
3:18
the 1800s, many societies had forgotten
3:21
the Ming dynasty entirely. They were
3:24
purely criminal enterprises using
3:27
patriotic rhetoric to justify extortion.
3:31
The transformation accelerated during
3:34
British colonial rule in Hong Kong. The
3:37
British, needing local cooperation to
3:39
control the Chinese population, made
3:42
deals with triad leaders. In exchange
3:45
for maintaining order in Chinese
3:47
neighborhoods, the triads could operate
3:49
gambling, prostitution, and opium dens.
3:54
This official tolerance created the
3:56
modern triad structure, criminal
3:58
organizations with quasi governmental
4:01
authority. Yet, something was missing
4:03
from this arrangement.
4:05
legitimacy. The triads were tolerated
4:08
but not respected. That changed with one
4:12
man, Duen,
4:14
the Al Capone of Shanghai. In the 1920s
4:18
and 30s, Du transformed the green gang
4:21
triad from street thugs into power
4:24
brokers. He wore western suits, donated
4:27
to charities, and cultivated
4:30
relationships with both Chinese
4:31
nationalists and Japanese occupiers.
4:34
When people needed problems solved,
4:37
business disputes, labor strikes,
4:40
political rivalries, they went to do,
4:43
not the police. D's model became the
4:47
triad blueprint. Be indispensable to
4:50
power rather than opposing it. Help
4:53
politicians win elections. Provide
4:56
muscle for corporations.
4:58
Control labor unions. Make yourself so
5:01
essential that eliminating you would
5:04
cause more problems than tolerating you.
5:07
It was a strategy that would serve them
5:09
well when the communists took power.
5:12
[Music]
5:14
Act two, the golden age of shadows. The
5:17
communist victory in 1949 should have
5:20
ended the triads. Mao Zadong declared
5:24
them feudal remnants and launched brutal
5:28
crackdowns. Thousands of members were
5:31
executed or sent to labor camps, but the
5:34
triads had learned to survive by
5:37
adapting. Many fled to Hong Kong,
5:40
Taiwan, and overseas Chinese
5:42
communities. Others went underground,
5:46
hiding within state-owned enterprises
5:48
and even the Communist Party itself.
5:50
Hong Kong became the triad paradise. By
5:53
the 1960s, the British colony hosted
5:55
over 300,000 triad members divided among
5:58
dozens of societies. The 14K, named
6:02
after its headquarters at 14 Canton
6:03
Road, claimed 200,000 members alone.
6:06
Sunon, Wuing, Wu, and dozens of smaller
6:10
groups carved up territories. They
6:12
controlled construction sites, film
6:14
studios, restaurants, and markets. You
6:18
couldn't park a car, shoot a movie, or
6:21
sell a fish without paying triad tax.
6:24
But the real money came from vice. The
6:27
triads ran thousands of gambling dens
6:30
from high stakes bakar for millionaires
6:34
to illegal lotteryies for workers. They
6:37
controlled prostitution from street
6:40
walkers to exclusive clubs. Most
6:42
lucratively, they dominated the heroin
6:45
trade, processing opium from the Golden
6:47
Triangle and shipping it worldwide.
6:51
By 1970, 80% of the heroin in New York
6:55
came through triad networks. Therefore,
6:58
the British faced a dilemma. Cracking
7:01
down on triads meant destabilizing Hong
7:04
Kong's economy and losing Chinese
7:06
cooperation.
7:08
The solution was typical colonial
7:10
pragmatism. Manage rather than
7:13
eliminate. The police created special
7:16
triad bureaus, not to destroy them, but
7:19
to keep violence at acceptable levels.
7:22
As long as bodies didn't pile up in
7:24
tourist areas, as long as British
7:26
businesses weren't targeted, the triads
7:29
could operate. This arrangement created
7:32
the modern triad structure. At the top
7:35
sat the dragon head or chairman running
7:37
operations like a CEO. Below him, the
7:41
white paper fan handled finances and
7:44
strategy while the red pole commanded
7:47
fighters. The straw sandal served as
7:50
liaison between groups. Members were
7:53
ranked numerically based on ancient
7:56
symbolism.
7:57
489 for dragon head, 426 for red pole,
8:03
49 for ordinary soldiers.
8:06
Every position, every ritual, every rule
8:09
designed to create unbreakable loyalty.
8:13
Nevertheless, the 1970s brought
8:16
challenges. The Independent Commission
8:19
Against Corruption, established in 1974,
8:23
began targeting police triad collusion.
8:26
Suddenly, cops who'd taken bribes for
8:29
decades faced arrest. The old
8:32
arrangements crumbled. But the triads
8:35
simply evolved again. Instead of bribing
8:39
beat cops, they corrupted legislators.
8:42
Instead of running obvious brothel, they
8:45
opened karaoke bars and massage parlors.
8:49
Instead of street level heroin dealing,
8:51
they moved into methamphetamines and
8:54
designer drugs. The real transformation
8:58
came through legitimate business. Triad
9:01
leaders realized that legal enterprises
9:04
could launder money while generating
9:06
profits. They invested in real estate
9:09
during Hong Kong's property boom. They
9:12
founded entertainment companies, signing
9:15
singers and actors who owed them
9:17
loyalty. They created trading firms that
9:20
could move anything, textiles or heroin,
9:23
electronics, or humans. By 1990,
9:28
economists estimated that 10% of Hong
9:31
Kong's GDP came from triadcontrolled
9:34
businesses. However, their greatest coup
9:37
was infiltrating the film industry. Hong
9:41
Kong cinema in the 1980s and '90s was
9:44
the third largest in the world after
9:47
Hollywood and Bollywood. The triads
9:50
controlled it completely. Every major
9:53
star paid protection money or belonged
9:55
to a triad. Scripts were changed to
9:58
please bosses. Rival productions were
10:02
sabotaged. When Jackie Chan tried to
10:04
remain independent, triads shot up his
10:07
manager's office. When Jet Lee refused
10:10
their demands, they threatened his
10:12
family. The message was clear. In Hong
10:16
Kong, you worked for the triads or you
10:18
didn't work. But this golden age
10:21
couldn't last. The 1997 handover loomed.
10:26
China had made clear that the triad's
10:29
colonial privileges would end. Some
10:32
societies prepared for war. Others made
10:35
more pragmatic plans. The smartest began
10:38
moving assets overseas and establishing
10:41
legitimate fronts. They sensed that the
10:44
future required evolution from pure
10:46
crime to criminal influence. Act three,
10:50
the modern empire. The 1997 handover
10:54
should have been the triad's death
10:56
sentence. Beijing had promised to crack
10:59
down on organized crime. The People's
11:02
Liberation Army marched into Hong Kong.
11:06
New laws targeted money laundering and
11:08
racketeering.
11:10
For a moment, it seemed the party was
11:13
over. But the Chinese government faced
11:15
the same dilemma as the British. The
11:18
triads were too embedded to remove
11:20
without destroying Hong Kong's economy.
11:22
Moreover, Beijing discovered what every
11:25
Chinese government had learned for
11:26
centuries. The triads could be useful.
11:30
They controlled unions that could be
11:31
mobilized for or against protests. They
11:35
had intelligence networks throughout
11:36
overseas Chinese communities. They could
11:39
solve problems that governments couldn't
11:41
officially touch. Therefore, a new
11:44
arrangement emerged. The triads would
11:46
abandon their most visible crimes. No
11:49
more street shootouts. No more chopping
11:51
rivals with meat cleavers in public. In
11:55
exchange, they could continue their less
11:57
obvious operations. The transformation
12:00
was remarkable. Within 5 years, Hong
12:04
Kong's murder rate plummeted while
12:06
organized crime revenues soared. The
12:09
Triads had gone corporate. Today's
12:12
Triads operate through layers of
12:15
legitimate businesses. A construction
12:17
company that wins government contracts,
12:20
but uses illegal immigrant labor. A
12:23
financial services firm that processes
12:25
payments for online gambling. a shipping
12:28
company that occasionally carries more
12:31
than electronics. The crimes are hidden
12:33
within legal structures, protected by
12:36
lawyers and accountants rather than just
12:38
muscle. Yet the old ways persist where
12:42
useful. Initiation ceremonies still
12:45
involve blood oaths and ancient poems.
12:48
Members still learn secret handshakes
12:51
and coded phrases. A triad member can
12:55
walk into a restaurant in Vancouver,
12:57
make specific gestures, and receive
13:00
assistance from brothers he's never met.
13:02
The 2.5 million members form a global
13:06
network more extensive than many
13:08
intelligence agencies.
13:10
The scope is staggering. In mainland
13:14
China, despite official prohibition,
13:17
triads control significant portions of
13:19
the underground economy. They run
13:22
illegal casinos in factory basement,
13:25
operate lone sharking networks that
13:27
exploit small businesses and facilitate
13:30
corruption between officials and
13:33
entrepreneurs. When COVID 19 hit, they
13:36
smuggled medical supplies. When chips
13:39
became scarce, they hijacked shipments.
13:42
They're simultaneously parasites and
13:45
service providers. In Macau, the
13:47
gambling capital of the world, triads
13:50
are omnipresent. They don't own the
13:52
casinos. Those belong to legitimate
13:55
billionaires.
13:56
But they control the VIP rooms where
13:59
high rollers gamble millions. They run
14:02
the junket operations that extend credit
14:05
to gamblers. They provide protection
14:08
that ensures debts are collected. The
14:11
Macau government estimates that 40% of
14:14
casino revenues involve triad connected
14:17
operations.
14:18
Internationally, the Triads have
14:20
followed Chinese immigration. In
14:23
Vancouver, they launder money through
14:25
real estate, driving property prices
14:27
beyond local affordability. In Sydney,
14:30
they control drug importation through
14:33
corrupted port workers. In London, they
14:36
run illegal gambling dens behind
14:39
restaurant fronts. In New York, they've
14:42
evolved from controlling Chinatown to
14:44
infiltrating Wall Street through
14:46
financial crimes. But their most
14:48
lucrative modern operation is human
14:51
trafficking. The triads move thousands
14:54
of people monthly, some seeking illegal
14:57
immigration, others forced into slavery.
15:00
They forge documents, bribe officials,
15:03
and maintain safe houses globally. A
15:06
Chinese farmer paying $50,000 to reach
15:10
America doesn't realize he's funding an
15:13
empire. A woman promised restaurant work
15:15
in Dubai doesn't know she'll end up in
15:17
forced prostitution. The ancient society
15:20
that began fighting for freedom now
15:22
trades in human bondage. Technology has
15:24
revolutionized their operations.
15:27
Encrypted messaging apps allow global
15:29
coordination. Cryptocurrency enables
15:31
untraceable payments. Online gambling
15:34
sites generate billions without physical
15:36
locations. The Triads have IT
15:38
departments more sophisticated than many
15:40
corporations. They hack competitors,
15:43
steal industrial secrets, and sell data
15:46
on the dark web. The warriors who once
15:49
used swords now deploy keyboards.
15:52
Nevertheless, challenges mount.
15:55
Xiinping's anti-corruption campaign has
15:58
targeted some triad connected officials.
16:02
Hong Kong's national security law gives
16:04
authorities broader powers.
16:07
International law enforcement shares
16:09
intelligence more effectively. Younger
16:11
Chinese raised on prosperity rather than
16:15
poverty are less attracted to criminal
16:17
life. Some societies struggle to
16:20
recruit, offering signing bonuses like
16:23
legitimate employers. But the triads
16:26
adapt as they always have. They're
16:28
moving into cyber crime, environmental
16:31
crimes, and intellectual property theft.
16:34
They're recruiting internationally, no
16:37
longer requiring Chinese ethnicity.
16:40
They're investing in artificial
16:42
intelligence and biotechnology.
16:45
The organizations that survived
16:47
dynasties, colonialism, and communism
16:50
aren't disappearing, they're evolving.
16:53
Recent investigations reveal the extent
16:56
of their reach. In 2019, Australian
17:00
police discovered Triad money laundering
17:02
through real estate exceeded $1 billion
17:05
annually. In 2020, Europole broke up a
17:10
Triad network smuggling fentinel
17:12
precursors, potentially saving thousands
17:15
of lives. In 2021, the FBI indicted
17:20
Triad members for infiltrating American
17:22
universities to steal research. Each
17:25
arrest reveals 10 more operations. Each
17:29
closed route opens three alternatives.
17:32
The Chinese government's relationship
17:34
remains ambiguous.
17:36
Officially, Beijing opposes all
17:39
organized crime. Unofficially, triad
17:42
leaders attend political meetings and
17:44
receive government contracts. During
17:47
Hong Kong protests, probeing triads
17:50
attack demonstrators while police
17:52
watched. When China needs unofficial
17:55
pressure applied to Taiwan or dissident
17:58
abroad, triad harassment often follows.
18:01
The ancient societies that once opposed
18:03
government have become its deniable
18:06
assets. But perhaps the most disturbing
18:08
aspect is normalization.
18:11
In Hong Kong, everyone knows which
18:14
businesses pay triad protection. In
18:17
Guangjo, factory owners budget for triad
18:19
fees like utilities. In overseas
18:23
Chinatowns, new immigrants learn triad
18:26
rules alongside language skills. The
18:30
criminal has become cultural, so
18:32
embedded that removing it would require
18:34
restructuring entire communities. The
18:38
2.5 million members aren't all violent
18:41
criminals. Many are ordinary people who
18:44
joined for protection or business
18:46
advantages.
18:48
The local restaurant owner who pays dues
18:50
but never commits crimes. The accountant
18:53
who handles legitimate businesses that
18:55
happen to have triad investors. the
18:58
police officer who maintains order while
19:01
ignoring certain activities. They're not
19:04
monsters. They're participants in a
19:07
system too large to escape. This is the
19:10
triad's true power. Not violence, but
19:14
integration. They've woven themselves
19:16
into the fabric of Chinese society so
19:19
thoroughly that pulling the thread would
19:21
unravel everything. They're
19:23
simultaneously criminal and cultural,
19:26
ancient and modern, Chinese and global.
19:30
They've achieved what no other criminal
19:32
organization has managed, becoming too
19:35
essential to eliminate. So, what do you
19:38
think? Are the triads an unavoidable
19:40
part of Chinese culture or a cancer that
19:44
could be removed with sufficient will?
19:47
Can organizations rooted in 17th century
19:51
rebellion adapt to 21 century
19:54
technology? Will the Chinese government
19:57
eventually destroy them or continue
19:59
using them as unofficial tools? Drop
20:02
your theory in the comments. I read
20:05
every single one. And if you want more
20:07
investigations into the world's most
20:09
powerful criminal empires, hit subscribe
20:12
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20:16
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20:18
law, they become