Chinese Criminal Entrepreneurs in Canada, Volume I

This book explores the historical origins, activities, and structure of the archetypal 'new' Asian criminal entrepreneurs in Canada, known as The Big Circle Boys (BCB). It traces their illegal immigration abroad from Guangzhou, the extent to which they are organised and violent, and what the future holds for them in Canada. The BCB's organisational features are examined against theories and legislation of organised crime to understand how they compare to other criminal entities. For the first time, a unique glimpse is provided into the workings of an elusive cellular network comprised of BCB dai lo (bosses). Through interviews and official documents, their criminal undertakings and structural dimensions are pieced together to show how their interdependent and collaborative cells enabled them to form a dynamic criminal community. This book speaks to those interested in how a collective of ethnic-Chinese career criminals have replaced traditional criminal organisations in transnational criminal markets, particularly for scholars and students of social sciences disciplines.




Alex Chung is Research Associate at University College London's Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (UCL STEaPP). This two-volume series is based on his doctoral study undertaken at Oxford University, UK.