CHINESE restaurateurs have warned their businesses are being targeted by a triad protection racket.

CHINESE restaurateurs have warned their businesses are being targeted by a triad protection racket.

The owner of a string of restaurants in the Capital claims a vicious triad gang is threatening to bomb one of his establishments and demanding 10,000.

His warning follows an investigation of similar complaint by the owner of another city centre Chinese restaurant.

Father-of-two Keith Pham said the threats started last week when eight gang members stormed into one of his restaurants, Saigon Saigon, in South St Andrew Street, threatened customers and demanded money from members of staff.

The gang are believed to be based in Glasgow and involved in money laundering and prostitution as well as extorting cash.

Mr Pham said the group barged into the restaurant at about 2.30pm while the restaurant was packed with diners.

"There were lots of customers in the restaurant but they came bursting in and started threatening my staff and knocking things off the counter."

"They were also threatening customers. They said they wanted protection money."

When Mr Pham, 37, didn’t pay up, he received a number of threatening calls from one of the gang leaders.

"He said if I didn’t pay up, my family and my business would ‘get it’," said Mr Pham. "He said I was to pay him 10,000 cash and that I was to take it to the gang leader, his ‘big brother’, at an address in Chinatown in Glasgow. He said I would be introduced to about 50 other gang members there."

Mr Pham, who owns two other Chinese restaurants in the Capital, also claims members of the gang - all Chinese - have been driving past his home at night.

"I’ve seen them outside my house. It frightens me. I am afraid for my wife and children. We came to Edinburgh because we thought it was safe. This has terrified us," he said.

But the restaurateur insists he is not paying up. "I have contacted the police and they are dealing with the matter," he said. "But I will never pay them any money. Never."

It is understood that police have stepped up security around Mr Pham’s restaurants since the incident. A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: "We are making inquiries."

Mr Pham’s ordeal comes just months after members of a triad gang allegedly targeted the Jimmy Chung’s restaurant chain. Staff at its Edinburgh outlet were threatened, as well as workers at branches in Aberdeen, Stirling and Dundee.

A spokesman for the chain warned: "These guys are as bad as the Mafia. It is a serious matter and one that needs to be addressed.

"But it is worrying to hear about Mr Pham’s experience - it proves these gangs are starting to target cities such as Edinburgh. I have spoken to Mr Pham and given him as much advice as I can. I hope police catch those responsible very soon."

How crime clans spread reach

TRIADS sprang from ancient secret societies in China, which had been founded on the lines of clan alliance, personal indebtedness and mutual protection.

• They existed for centuries as quasi-cultural institutions, but by the 19th century the authorities had decreed membership to be punishable by death.

• While communist China under Chairman Mao was busy stamping out Triads as part of a crackdown on its ancient hierarchical history, they were flourishing under the gaze of UK colonial authorities.

• Today, the gangs are involved in criminal activities ranging from drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution and kidnapping to illegal immigration, counterfeiting, video piracy, loan sharking and gambling.

• Triad activity achieved a global spread in the 20th century as the Chinese emigrated across the world.

• Britain is thought to be home to four major gangs, including the infamous 14K, which is thought to be the largest.