Argentina investigates organized crimes targeting Chinese immigrants

World Today

Argentina investigates organized crimes targeting Chinese immigrants

Authorities in Argentina are celebrating recent success in cracking down on organized crimes targeting the country’s Chinese immigrants.

But the investigation into the criminal organization, operated under the name Pixiu, is not over yet.

CCTV America’s Joel Richards reports from Buenos Aires.

The majority of Argentina’s Chinese immigrants are from Fujian province. And their dialect, different from Mandarin, was one obstacle for investigators looking to crack the mafia organization that, for years, has been extorting tens of thousands of dollars in protection money from local merchants.

Collaboration between Argentine and Chinese police was vital in the operation, code-named Dragon’s Head.

Earlier this month, local police carried out 22 raids that netted 40 arrests. Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said she is investigating 17 shootings of Chinese merchants who refused to hand over payment, usually up to $50,000, to gang members known as Chinese Mafia.

What this police investigation has revealed is how Pixiu’s activity has increased and expanded in recent years – the organization hired Argentine, Peruvian and Colombian nationals to carry out its threats. The Chinese Supermarket Federation has reported over 40 threats in the past year.

The investigation into Pixiu will continue, with local reports placing the number of deaths linked to the organization over the past six years at more than 40.