BIG CIRCLE BOYS BORN OF RED GUARDS

Drugs, Loansharking Among Asian Gang'S Specialities

The Big Circle Boys, or Dai Huen Jai, has its origins in the Red
Guards, the paramilitary troops of the Chinese Cultural Revolution who
terrorized intellectuals and the upper class.

After Mao Zedong's death in 1976, many Red Guards were sent to
re-education prison camps around the city of Canton -- represented on
maps by a big circle, hence the name -- where they were tortured and
starved. Having been through this degradation and having military
training, they have a fearsome reputation. A number escaped and fled
to Hong Kong, where they obtained falsified documents to come to
Canada, coming to police attention in 1987 in Vancouver.

Big Circle Boys are extremely mobile, having a national network in
major cities in Canada and the U.S. They are difficult to detect
because they work in small cells, which are next to impossible to infiltrate.

Here are some of the criminal activities associated with Asian
organized crime:

DRUG TRAFFICKING

The mainstay has been heroin from the Golden Triangle of southeast
Asia, but in recent years, Asian crime groups have expanded into
cocaine and other drugs, including ecstasy and B.C.-grown marijuana.

LOANSHARKING

Loan sharks often frequent casinos, where they charge exorbitant
interest rates for loans to pay gambling debts. A Toronto loansharking
case heard testimony of how first-time loans of $3,000 had to be
repaid in three days. Unpaid loans result in violence and drive-by
shootings to force repayment.

HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING

Many people from southeast Asia agree to pay $45,000 or more to be
smuggled into Canada, only to be exploited as prostitutes or forced
into labour to pay off their debts. They are also susceptible to
robbery from gangs as their lack of immigration papers makes them
fearful of reporting crimes against them. Some become drug couriers
and others have serious criminal records before coming to Canada.

COUNTERFEIT CURRENCY AND GOODS

Asian crime groups are extensively involved in producing, importing
and distributing a wide variety of counterfeit goods, including
computer software, video/music recordings, brand-name clothing and
Canadian-branded tobacco products, according to the 2004 Annual Report
on Organized Crime in Canada, published by the criminal intelligence
service.

Advances in computer technology make counterfeit products more
difficult to detect. One major concern is the rise of counterfeit
prescription drugs, which do not have to comply with health and safety
standards. The World Health Organization estimates up to 10 per cent
of pharmaceuticals sold globally are counterfeit.

Last year, money counterfeiting increased by 72 per cent -- more than
138,000 incidents -- making it the sixth-largest crime category in
Canada. The surge helped drive Canada's national crime rate up by six
per cent last year, the first substantial increase in more than a decade.

OVERSEAS EXPORT OF STOLEN VEHICLES

Shipping stolen vehicles overseas is one of the most profitable crimes
for Asian organized crime groups because theft rings only need to pay
the cost of stealing and shipping -- generally less than 10 per cent
of a vehicle's value.

Stolen vehicles are usually shipped in containers and accompanied by
false documentation. Last year in Canada, 171,000 vehicles were stolen
- -- up five per cent from the previous year, according to a 2004
Statistics Canada report, which estimated about 20 per cent of thefts
involved organized crime.