Wan Kuok-koi, aka ‘Broken enamel,’ the notorious previous frontrunner of the 14K Triads, who’s believed to have experienced dealings with the junket industry.
Hong Kong’s triads have always been proven to enjoy ties with Macau’s VIP industry, even though extent that is exact of influence on the junkets has been a point of debate.
However, a new criminology study, whose researchers spent three years interviewing previous triad members, police, Chinese officials and VIP room managers, has concluded that the impact of the criminal gangs is pervasive.
In fact, sociology Professor T. Wing Lo and research fellow Sharon Ingrid Kwok of Hong Kong’s City University, conclude the junket industry is inextricably intertwined with organized criminal activity to the level that it’s ‘dominated’ by the triads.
That is a market that through the height of Macau’s economic boom years was accountable for some 60 per cent associated with enclave’s revenues, indicating that organized criminal activity is really a cornerstone of the gambling hub’s economy.
According up to a user of the notorious 14K triads, interviewed for the research, many VIP-room contractors ‘are triads or businessmen by having a triad background.’
Symbiotic Relationship
However it is, needless to say, a two-way road; the report states that Macau’s VIP rooms are ‘the main drivers of economic earnings for the triads.’
And even though the junket operations may presently be on [Read more...]