ABSTRACT
Owing to its proximity to the Golden Triangle as well as its very advanced communication and transport links with the rest of the world, Hong Kong has long been regarded by Western law enforcement agencies as one of the foremost heroin trafficking centres. It is believed that Hong Kong triads use their extensive international networks to arrange for large amounts of heroin from the Golden Triangle to be moved to Hong Kong, and then have it smuggled into North America, Europe, and Australia through a number of innovative methods. After the drugs successfully arrive in consumer countries, profits are channelled back to Hong Kong for money laundering. As Sen (1991: 247) writes: ‘[…] it [Hong Kong] is the centre of the “Chinese Mafia” organized crime groups engaged in running the smuggling networks and laundering profits from the illicit trade.’ Are Hong Kong triads really able to dominate the heroin trade from the Golden Triangle to Western countries?
