Since the mid-1980's, Chinese criminal groups have become well-organized, modeled on the Triad societies of Hong Kong and China. They are now active in a number of South African cities, notably in Cape Town and Johannesburg; and they have branched out into a range of criminal activities, including various forms of fraud, drug-trafficking, firearms smuggling, extortion, money laundering, prostitution, illegal gambling, the smuggling of illegal immigrants, tax evasion, and the large-scale importing of counterfeit goods. The illicit harvesting and exporting of abalone, although still an important component of their criminal enterprises, is no longer the core activity of these groups. The authorities have identified four major Chinese organized criminal groups: the Wo Shing Wo group, the San Yee On group, the 14K-Hau group, and the 14K-Ngai group. These groups act independently of Hong Kong and from each other in South Africa. The Taiwan-linked groups appear to be less structured and sophisticated than those linked to Hong Kong. Although there is very little intergroup violence, violence is sometimes used to eliminate competitors or to persuade debtors to repay money owed. The Chinese criminal groups are involved in the corruption of public officials, mainly lower level officials in the Department of Home Affairs; this facilitates activities such as illegal immigration. South African law enforcement agencies should expect a considerable expansion of criminal activities by Chinese Triad-based criminal groups. To date, however, the measures taken by the South African Police Service to counter organized crime have not given much attention to Chinese criminal organizations. By 2000 there was still no dedicated police unit in place to monitor and investigate the activities of Chinese criminal organizations. 10 notes