Triad

A Triad is the name of any number of Chinese international organized crime societies. Triads can be found in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Chinese communities in the United States such as in the Chinatown districts of New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. Criminal enterprises of Triads may include weapons smuggling, narcotics, prostitution, human trafficking, and many others.

The Triads of New York City played a major role in the 1997-1998 comic book limited series The Crow: Waking Nightmares. NYPD police detective Mark Leung worked undercover inside a Triad led by an elderly man named Ko Lun Yiu. When his identity was discovered, the Triads murdered his wife, and killed Leung via their enforcer, Mister Xin. Mark Leung was resurrected by the spirit of The Crow, and granted the ability to avenge his own death, but also afforded him the chance to save his eleven-year-old daughters, Katherine and Annabelle, whom were abducted by the Triads and sold into slavery.