Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump met at Trump‘s Mar-a-Lago estate on January 30th, after the president-elect threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian imports for the flow of illegal drugs from Canada into the U.S.
Despite having an “excellent conversation” with Trump, Trudeau did not secure a commitment to removing the tariffs.
Canada is experiencing an unprecedented fentanyl crisis, which has not only led to a surge in street drug users, but also fueled international crime syndicates, particularly involving Chinese and Hong Kong triads and Canadian casinos.
The situation has drawn international scrutiny, particularly from the U.S., which accuses Canada of exporting its drug problem across the border.
According to Canadian broadcaster CTV, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police last month seized a “Super Lab” in British Columbia, calling it “the largest and most sophisticated” illicit drug production facility in the country. The lab, with connections to local gangs, produced several kilograms of fentanyl each week, CTV said. The lab allegedly produced highly addictive substances using materials sourced from China, and sold them in the North American market.
Hong Kong triads involved
Sam Cooper, an investigative journalist and founder of online media The Bureau, unveiled the money-laundering operations linked to Canada’s illegal drug trade.
“I uncovered how gangs use government-regulated casinos in British Columbia to launder billions of (Canadian) dollars,” he said. “These funds are funneled through casinos overseen by Canadian authorities, with the bulk of the money originating from ultra-wealthy individuals in China. They move funds through underground banking networks run by Hong Kong and Macau triads.”
According to Cooper, these underground networks are linked to the Hong Kong-based 14K and Sun Yee On triads. Their influence extends beyond casinos, infiltrating Vancouver’s real estate sector, he said.
Casinos become money laundering hotspots
Investigative journalists from Canadian media outlet Global News reviewed an internal report submitted to the British Columbia government in 2017. The province’s attorney general testified before a federal committee, declaring Canada’s anti-money-laundering system a “complete failure.” He disclosed that criminals were openly transporting hockey bags stuffed with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from drug deals into British Columbia’s casinos, yet no charges have been filed.
A Hong Kong-born Canadian resident said River Rock Casino in Richmond is one of the hotspots for money laundering.
“Once you are in the River Rock, you will find its patrons are nearly all Chinese — some from China and some from Hong Kong. The casino is known for laundering money. After drug deals are completed, the proceeds need to be washed. There is no doubt that Hong Kong triads are involved in Canadian casinos,” he said.
The process, he explained, typically involves converting illicit drug proceeds into “legitimate” gambling winnings.
“Why do some people seem to gamble as if it were a full-time job at River Rock? They are laundering money for the gangs, using a variety of tactics. The most basic one is taking control of an entire baccarat table, betting on both the banker and the player, winning and losing in equal measure, effectively ‘legitimizing’ dirty money.”
Following a meeting with Trudeau, Trump warned about the rising fentanyl trafficking from China, which is routed through Canada and Mexico. He emphasized that the U.S. will no longer stand by and called for closer cooperation with Canada to combat this “terrible crisis.”
The Voice of America has previously reported that the U.S. Customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border, and up to 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border during the last fiscal year.
To read the original story in Chinese, click here.
