Tse Chi Lop
Tse Chi Lop is the alleged Chinese-Canadian kingpin behind Asia-Pacific based international crime supersyndicate, Sam Gor, also referred to as "The Company", and former member of the Hong Kong, Toronto and Vancouver-based triad crime group, the Big Circle Gang. The Sam Gor syndicate generates billions of dollars each year from the trade in methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs, leading some authorities to assert Tse as a bigger player in the global drug trade than Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, and possibly even Colombian cartel leader Pablo Escobar. Sam Gor is said to be largely responsible for the dramatic shift in recent years away from drugs such as heroin and towards synthetics such as methamphetamine, ketamine and fentanyl in East and Southeast Asia. Its production operations are believed to be closely linked to ethnic armed groups in Myanmar.
Born in Guangzhou, China, Tse immigrated to Canada in 1988 and in the late 1990s was convicted of transporting heroin into the United States, serving nine years in prison following his role in heroin trafficking with the Rizzuto crime family. Following his release, Tse was able to rise to power in a few short years by creating a triad alliance while effectively maintaining his anonymity and enjoying life in Hong Kong and Macau. Sam Gor is made up of five members of different triads: the 14K Triad, Wo Shing Wo, Sun Yee On, Big Circle Gang and Bamboo Union. The group is associated and does business with many other local crime groups such as the Yakuza in Japan and the Comanchero Motorcycle Club and Lebanese and other mafias in Australia, and is responsible for what is thought to be the biggest drug-trafficking operation in Asia's history.
