Triad (simplified Chinese: 三合会; traditional Chinese: 三合會; pinyin: Sānhéhuì; literally "Triad Society") is a term that describes many branches of Chinese underground society and/or organizations based in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Malaysia and Mainland China, and also in Western countries and cities with significant Chinese populations such as New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Their activities include car theft, contract killing, drug trafficking, extortion, money laundering, gambling, prostitution, and other forms of racketeering. A major source of the triad's income today comes from the counterfeiting of copyrighted and trademarked goods such as clothing, coin counterfeiting, computer software, counterfeit money, handbags, music, CDs, watches and movie VCDs/DVDs. They also trade in endangered species as well as bootleg tobacco and alcohol products!
