From street fights to cybercrime, how Hong Kong’s feared triads transformed their business model

Hong Kong’s secret criminal societies are abandoning traditional blood oaths, street violence and territorial rivalries. Today, triad syndicates rely on cybercrime, money laundering and Telegram recruitment, operating more like tech start-ups than street gangs.

Through insights from a former youth recruit, anti-triad police and experts, SCMP looks at how Hong Kong’s underworld transformed its business model and culture in the past decade.