To the north of Nanjing, a court in Xuzhou city has convicted 22 people of gang crime and sentenced them to jail and detention, while denouncing them as evil. During the open trial, the court heard this “mafia style” gang was reportedly run by Tao Lei and Tao Shuai.
The gang demolished civilian homes with the use of violence, illegally developed property worth over ¥40 million and conducted illicit mining. Xinhua reported that over 200 villagers’ homes were torn down in Zhangji, Tongshan.
Lei and Shuai were both handed sentences totalling 38 years in jail. The other 20 gang members received sentences of up to 11 years and detention.
The regional crackdown on organised crime falls in line with Beijing’s nationwide efforts to rid the country of organised crime. “In a closed-door meeting of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party’s top graft watchdog, 2 weeks ago, Xi issued a stark warning over collusion between triads and officials, especially the protectors of mafia-style organisations, which he said had threatened the party’s rule”, wrote Shi Jiangtao for South China Morning Post.
In a document released by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on 24 January 2018, the State Council of the CPC Central Committee says it will aim to carry out a special campaign to “eliminate evil”.
The Nanjinger last month reported on a similar case involving gang members running amok in Nanjing’s new Jiangbei area.
21 Boys, Asian Militants, Black Bugs, Black Eagles, Joe Boys, Contentinals, Golden Star, Immortals, Kurrupted Boys, Phoenician Warriors, Raiders, Red Dragon, Seven Stars and Taiwan Boys are the names of just a few of the known gangs that operate in China.
Chinese mafia not only need to fear retribution from their own country but abroad too; in January of 2018, 33 “Chinese mafia” were arrested in Italy where they were involved in drug trafficking and prostitution, among other crimes in Prato, Tuscany.
