A Canadian-born Chinese man, known as Asia’s “El Chapo”, was arrested in Amsterdam on Friday. Tse Chi Lop, 57, reportedly made $ 17.7 billion a year as the alleged leader of Asia’s biggest crime syndicate in history, named by its members as ‘The Company’ and by law enforcement ‘Sam Gor’. Tse allegedly carried out Sam Gor’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia. But it was Australian authorities that issued a warrant for his arrest in 2019. It appears that Tse was responsible for 70% of the drugs reaching Australia. “The syndicate has targeted Australia over a number of years, importing and distributing large quantities of illegal narcotics, washing the profits overseas and living off the wealth gained from crime,” he said. the Australian Federal Police (AFP) according to Sky News. Sam Gor allegedly pulled tons of methamphetamine, heroin and ketamine to at least a dozen countries. But authorities believe meth was the main issue, while Tse sold ecstasy on the side. However, Tse’s full name up to and including Reuters was largely unheard of published an investigative article that identified him in 2019. According to the outlet, Tse was the primary target of the AFP-led Operation Kungur, which involved about 20 agencies in Asia, Europe and North America. It is unclear how much money Tse has earned over the years. Estimates from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have made Sam Gor’s revenue between $ 8 and $ 17.7 billion a year. “The importance of Tse’s arrest cannot be underestimated. It is big and has been coming for a long time, ” Jeremy Douglas, UNODC Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said CNN. Dutch authorities arrested Tse at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam while he was getting ready to board a flight to Canada. Australian officials confirmed on Sunday that he would be extradited to face charges, The New York Times report. This is not the first time Tse has been involved with drugs. In 1998, he was convicted of importing heroin into the United States and served six years in prison. Screenshots via CTV News (left) and ABC Australia (right)
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