Crack Down on Snakeheads

Crack Down on Snakeheads

Last year the British and Chinese governments struck a new deal which will mean greater cooperation between their security services as part of an attempt to crack down on organized crime.
In particular, triad gangs and “snakeheads” who engage in human trafficking will be particular targets. The Chinese underworld is the largest trafficker of people into Britain. Of the 1,300 cases of sexual exploitation in England and Wales in 2009, half involved Chinese women. A source said: “Snakehead gangs are seen as the most sophisticated of the organized crime groups, and they are often closely involved in human trafficking.” The issue was at the top of the agenda late last year when Chinese police officers met with Scotland Yard’s Serious Crime Squad. (Daily Telegraph, November 11, 2010).
Many Chinese, especially women, live in misery and are forced into prostitution and crime by the Chinese triad gangs, who are utterly ruthless. They charge huge sums for poor people (especially from coastal Fujian province) to be transported illegally to Europe and North America. There the women are exploited and have to work in poor conditions for years to pay back the huge debts they owe.