Flying Dragons (gang)
| Founded | Late 1970s |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1980s-present |
| Territory | New York City |
| Ethnicity | Chinese, Vietnamese |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, extortion, illegal gambling, Racketeering, robbery, assault, burglary, theft, kidnapping, and murder |
| Allies | Hip Sing Tong |
| Rivals | Ghost Shadows |
The Flying Dragons (traditional Chinese: 飛龍幫; simplified Chinese: 飞龙帮; pinyin: Fēilóngbāng; Jyutping: Fei1lung4bong1) are a well known Chinese American street gang affiliated with the Hip Sing Tong; they are active in New York City's Chinatown, and have a presence in Hong Kong, Canada and Australia. The gang moved heavily into heroin trafficking after the Italian-American Mafia lost the trade as a result of the Pizza Connection prosecutions in the mid-1980s. The Flying Dragons are believed to have been started during the late 1970s to early 1980s.
The boss of the gang, Johnny "Onionhead" Eng was sentenced to 24 years imprisonment on 14 counts of heroin running and conspiracy in 1993.
Similar to the Triads of China, and the Yakuza of Japan, the Flying Dragons are likely to operate with people of their own ethnicity. Unlike western gangs, gangs such as the Flying Dragons remain fairly unnoticeable by police outside of their own homelands. In the leader's, Johnny "onionhead" Eng's criminal case, it is reported the Flying Dragons are a fairly violent gang; being involved in murders and drug trafficking.
The Flying Dragons are said to have operated heavily in Chinatowns in the United States and in Hong Kong. As many Asian gangs did, the Flying Dragons dealt with illegal drugs; mainly heroin. They're also known for extortion and kidnapping. Along with South America, Asia entered the market around the 1970s and have played a larger role in supplying drugs to American consumers.The steady demand for illegal drugs by U.S. consumers, which Asian gangs were a significant part of, has led the U.S. government to wage a war on drugs since the 1980s.
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Wikipedia