Latest news with #triad
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Concern in Japan as police investigation uncovers possible yakuza-triad alliance
A police investigation into alleged organised crime activity in Japan has uncovered what experts say could be signs of cooperation between a domestic yakuza faction and Hong Kong's 14K triad, one of Asia's most powerful criminal networks. The concern centres around a video found on a mobile phone seized during an arrest in September last year, which shows individuals sharing glasses of sake – a traditional ritual that experts say can symbolise an oath of loyalty or alliance. According to Jiji Press, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department said the footage depicted members of the yakuza taking part in the ritual with individuals believed to be part of Hong Kong's 14K triad. The meeting was said to have taken place at a hotel in Yamanashi prefecture in March 2024. Police said the footage was discovered six months later during an unrelated investigation into the illegal resale of mobile phones. However, five of the Japanese men involved in the March hotel meeting were subsequently arrested on a separate charge: failing to declare their alleged affiliations with banned organised crime groups when checking in – an offence under legislation introduced to restrict gang movements and activities. Among those arrested was Kajiro Shirai, 51, who officers identified as a member of the Chinese Dragon gang – a group largely composed of descendants of Japanese nationals who were left in China after World War II and later repatriated. Also detained was Kazuyuki Tajima, 53, who police described as a senior member of the Sumiyoshi-kai, one of Japan's largest yakuza syndicates.
South China Morning Post
14-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
4 more men arrested over chaotic stand-off involving Hong Kong minibus
Hong Kong police have arrested four more men in connection with viral footage on social media showing a red-topped minibus repeatedly slamming into a black private car as a group of people attempted to surround the coach. Advertisement Senior Inspector Yip Wing-ho of the Yuen Long police district's anti-triad section said on Wednesday that investigators had discovered the stand-off arose from a past dispute between the minibus driver and another person handling the same route. 'That's why several individuals aboard a private car stopped the minibus driver during the incident and argued with him. During the quarrel, the minibus driver was suspected to have lost his temper and deliberately crashed into the private car before fleeing,' Yip said. The incident was reported to police last Saturday at 10.50am. The confrontation started when the car, which was heading in the direction of Yuen Long's Tai Tong, stopped the minibus near Shui Chiu San Tsuen. Several men then got out of the car to argue with the minibus driver, with the latter reversing and then going forward to hit the car twice during the dispute. Advertisement Yip said one man involved in the squabble had used a hard object to hit the minibus three times. Shortly afterwards, the minibus left the scene by travelling along Tai Tong Road in the direction of Yuen Long.
