The Black Dragons () was a Chinese-American criminal organization and street

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

that was formed in 1980 by Chinese immigrants in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, California. It was started by a group of young men who banded together to protect themselves from other Asian and Latino gangs. The Black Dragons operated in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and the

San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley (), sometimes referred to by its initials as SGV, is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, with the city of Los Angeles directly bordering it to the west and occupying the vast majority of the southeastern ...

for over two decades. At the gang's peak it had over 100 core members. They may sometimes be identified by the color black. During their downfall in 2002, the convicted core members have made peace and united with other Asian rival gangs in prison. Over the years, One Black Dragon, ( have made allies with numerous leaders and high ranking members of previous rival organizations, this member's information from a reliable source. This member is also a member of the Hop Sing Tong, The Bamboo Triad's current leader ( 黃少岑 (Huang Shao-tsen), "Yao Yao") is also his god father, has family ties with the Asian Boyz Gang, and relations with Vietnamese Boyz Gang, Cool Boyz, and Wah Ching. The gang preyed on the

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

communities as a source of income and is unique compared to other Asian crime groups as they were involved in both organized and street-level crime. The revenue from organized crime came mainly from extorting brothels, prostitution,

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

, the distribution of narcotics, and counterfeiting merchandise. At street-level, the gang was involved in a wide range of crimes that included murder, robbery, home invasion and car theft. The Black Dragon's influence was strong in the

, during the mid-1990s until its previous downfall in 2002. After two decades, the gang gained the attention of federal authorities because of their involvement in violent criminal activities. The

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(FBI) opened a case against the Black Dragons in 1999. The FBI then created the Black Dragon Task force and the three-year investigation dubbed "Operation Back Door" led to the convictions of multiple gang members, stemming from murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, extortion, illegal possession of firearms and

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was e ...

(RICO) charges. The gang was taken down in one of the largest gang sweeps of 2002, as federal agents simultaneously raided and arrested 30 of its core members, following up with convictions for over half of them in 2003, including a twenty-four year sentence for each of the top three members of the gang. The gang had been identified as a top threat with a history of violence by various law enforcement agencies, according to FBI Agent Kerry Smith who headed a West Covina FBI unit that targets Asian criminal enterprise and violent crime. "These guys weren't afraid to commit violence," Smith said.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Dragons (Gang) Organizations established in 1980 1980 establishments in California Organizations disestablished in 2002 2002 disestablishments in California Chinese-American organized crime groups Gangs in Los Angeles Street gangs Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles Chinese-American culture in Los Angeles Triad groups

See also

References