Before I launch into this blog, let me clarify something that I failed to do in the last blog. I ended the last blog with the mention of death threats that I received and the security that was provided for me. I said that I had abandoned the use of the armored vehicle and body guards for my commute to work after a few days. This was done not because I was brave, or for that matter foolish. I dropped that part of the security because I felt certain that the Triad would not try to kill me. I retained the guard on the house and the roving patrol because, after all, I had my family to think about and just in case something was to happen, at least the armed guard and the roving patrol would serve as deterrents.
Let me explain something about the Chinese Triads. If they indeed wanted to kill me, they would have done so without any warnings or threats. It is not their "style" to send threats to their targets before carrying out a "hit!" I believe those death threats were sent by the Great Circle Gang just as a warning for me to "lay off!" If they wanted to, they could have killed me any time. It just didn't make sense for them to do so, they had already drawn enough attention on themselves. On the other hand, they may have tried to pull off some "harassing" acts on my house and family, therefore, I kept the other part of the security.
The Embassy's roving patrol was supervised by our Security Officer so it was competent. The Paraguayan Army guard on my house was another story. He may have been armed with a fearsome looking submachinegun, but I doubt seriously if he even knew how to use it. He was a pain in the neck. We had to feed him all his meals, and he often disappeared for hours to visit with his girl friend or buddies at his barracks! There was an incident later that was funnier than the "keystone cops" involving our "armed" guard, but that's another story!
So, back to the Triad. The Great Circle Gang was in a sense like those roving bands of brigands in Manchuria, the "hoonhoozy" (hung hu tzu). Generally the Triads, like the 14K, are well organized, very secretive, and just shadowy figures who stay out of public sight and limelight. The Great Circle Gang was more like the "hoonhoozy," they didn't seem to care if anyone recognize them. They were brazen and often involved in violent activities. However, as more information was gathered, it became evident that the 14K was the big boss in many ways, at least in Paraguay. Yet, at the same time, the Great Circle Gang appeared to be independent. It was somewhat puzzling. With their supposed leader "Johnny" Kon Yu Leung arrested in New York, they were leaderless, still they functioned, carried on with their criminal activities as if nothing had happened to their leader.
It wasn't long before I discovered that in many ways, the two mistresses of the Minister of Interior Sabino Montanaro were somehow "supervising" the activities of the Great Circle Gang in Paraguay. The beautiful twins who looked more like fashion models were named Betty and Vicky. The twins were born in Hong Kong and were named after the British Queens Victoria and Elizabeth! Of the two sisters, Betty appeared to be more active as a "leader." The whole improbable story of the Great Circle Gang in Paraguay sounded like fiction to begin with, but now with the discovery that two beautiful women, who were also the mistresses of the Paraguayan Minister of Interior, were the leaders of this gang, the whole scenario appeared like a figment of someone's wild imagination.
The two sisters had appeared at the U.S. Embassy to apply for a U.S. visa with their Paraguayan Diplomatic passports. They were refused visas of course, but not before everyone got a chance to see the two stunning women. The Embassy Marine Security Guards really got a kick out of seeing these women. They were not accustomed to seeing women that appeared as if they had just walked straight out of the pages of Vogue magazine! Seeing them, it was not surprising to hear that Montanaro was complete "putty" in their hands! But I also suspect that they were the ones that initiated the death threats after they were turned away from our embassy without getting their visas!
Then, in many of the documents that I had received from my Nationalist Chinese friend Joseph, the two women's names kept appearing. Yue King Fong and Chui Ping Cheng appeared to play a prominent role in the Great Circle Gang activities in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia. At first I thought perhaps that somehow they were the Chinese names of Betty and Vicky, but then, they were sisters so they should have had the same family name. As more information was gathered, it became clear that these two women, also described as beautiful and always fashionably dressed, were older than Betty and Vicky. However, they were such shadowy figures that it wasn't clear just who they were and Hong Kong Police did not seem to have any record of them. Then finally an informant, a former Triad member, appeared who clarified this confusing situation. The two women were the leaders of the Great Circle Gang, the most violent gang among all Triads at the time! No one seemed to know where they came from and whether they were from Hong Kong or from the mainland, or perhaps they were overseas Chinese! It was obvious that those weren't their real names, since they seem to use different names on some occasions! But it was also obvious that they were much feared by not just their subordinates, but other Triads as well!
After I left Paraguay, in the Winter of 1988 while in Ecuador, I got a surprise visit from a Detective Chief Inspector and a Detective Inspector, both from Hong Kong Police's Special Gang Unit. The two, a Brit and a Hong Kong Chinese, wanted to talk to me about the Great Circle Gang! Apparently they had been in the U.S., in Washington, consulting with the U.S. Police and FBI and DEA about the Great Circle Gang and in the process had come across my reports on the gang's activities in Paraguay! On the way back to Hong Kong they decided to stop by Ecuador to talk to me! So, apparently my reports did not just disappear into some dark hole in the foggy bottom of Washington! They confirmed my earlier findings that the Great Circle Gang was run by women, not just out of Hong Kong, but in Paraguay as well!
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