I grew up in Britain's deadliest triad gang... here are the THREE signs your favourite Chinese restaurant is run by gangsters

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The most successful criminals operate in the shadows, blending into the fabric of our every day lives and hiding behind the seemingly legal businesses we walk past every day.

They aren't ageing Eastend gangsters reliving their glory years on a podcast or Albanian hoods bragging about their new Mercedes G–Wagon on TikTok. 

The Chinese triads run their British businesses as if they are 'invisible' but their vast empire, spanning across all of our major cities, has been described by one detective as 'without doubt the largest and most sophisticated criminal network in the UK'.

To the average law–abiding citizen, their presence would be impossible to spot, but former triad members and gang experts have revealed the true power of their chokehold on the British underworld to The Crime Desk.

'The gang members are invisible...but if you know, you know,' former triad enforcer Richard Musa explained as he walked our reporter past the red lanterns and neon signs of London's Chinatown, after gaining permission from the head of his old gang.

A suspected member of triad group Wo Shing Wo is arrested during a wave of raids on Hong Kong. The group is known to be active in Britain 

London's Chinatown, with its red lanterns and neon lights, is controlled by two 'main players' – 14K and Wo Shing Wo (WSW)

Pictured: A tangerine tree with red paper wrapped around its base in the window of a restaurant could mean the owner is paying protection money to a triad

Just a stone's throw from the packed theatres, cinemas and pubs of Soho, Richard claimed the area is controlled by two 'main players' – the 14K and Wo Shing Wo (WSW) triad gangs.

Both originated in the 20th century with Wo Shing Wo establishing itself in the 1930s and 14K coming 15 years later, originally as an anti–communist action group in mainland China before fleeing to Hong Kong in 1949 and shifting towards organised crime.

14K was one of the first triads to gain a footing in the UK, taking advantage of a relaxation in immigration policies after World War Two, while Wo Shing Wo gained power in the late 1980s.

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While most immigrants were hoping to start a new life for themselves in cities like London, Manchester and Birmingham, triads saw it as an opportunity to assert their control, demanding protection money from new business owners and setting up a network of illegal gambling dens.  

According to Richard, the 14K and WSW each rule half of Chinatown – enforcing a protection racket on a host of restaurants in the iconic district.

The restaurants, he claims, are run by legitimate businessmen forced to pay triads a percentage of their earnings in exchange for protection known as 'tea money'.

Richard explained there are universal symbols that show the businesses are under triad protection.

'If you walk into a restaurant and it has a tangerine tree in the window with red paper wrapped around it, it means a civilian owns the restaurant but is paying protection money to a triad.'

Richard claimed restaurants in Chinatown without a tangerine tree placed prominently in the window are warning rivals the business is owned by a triad or a person associated with a gang.

The former gangster was in the WSW for 37 years before turning his back on a life of crime and converting to Islam.

However, he explained the enduring bond he has with his triad 'brothers' means he is still treated with respect when visiting their establishments.

While meeting our reporter in a popular Chinatown restaurant, a teapot was placed at a specific angle in front of him by the waiter.

Explaining the importance of the ritual, Richard said: 'If I wasn't here they [the waiter] can point the teapot at anyone.

"But because I'm here they won't point it at me, it's like putting a middle finger up at someone, it can cause a major issue.

'That teapot can cause someone's life to be lost, a WSW member would flip this table upside down and smash it if it was pointed at him.'

The spouts of teapots are faced away from triad members when they dine in restaurants, in a sign of respect

Former enforcer Richard Musa said Chinatown restaurants are used as 'fronts' by triad gangs, who take a slice of their earnings in return for protection

And teapots aren't the only significant objects universally recognised by triads – white flowers and broken items are also indicators of danger.

Professor Oliver Chan, an associate professor of criminology, told the Daily Mail: 'The white chrysanthemum or white wreath are associated in Chinese culture with death and funerals.

'Delivered to a business, they communicate an unambiguous threat without a single word.'

Meanwhile receiving a cracked piece an ornamental stone like jade can suggest something belonging to them will be destroyed.

But away from sinister symbols of power, high–profile members are taught to shy away from living in the spotlight, instead preferring to blend into society.

'The image of the heavily tattooed, openly aggressive triad member is largely a product of older films and older eras,' Professor Chan explained.

'Senior figures operating here now are often completely indistinguishable from legitimate businesspeople. They can be well–dressed, multilingual and professionally presented.

'Many are prominent businessmen who have either sought triad protection or become fully involved in the organisation's activities.'

Triads are split between businessmen and fighters, the 'money and power' are intentionally kept separate to maintain control and balance.

Leading the group is the 'Dragonhead' and at the bottom 'Horses', also known as foot soldiers.

'Lower down the hierarchy, such as those enforcers, debt collectors and other low–ranking members, you are more likely to see the traditional markers,' Professor Chan added.

'For example tattoos in specific body locations, gathering at the same spots at regular times and a certain physical authority within the community.

'You notice it in how others around them behave, people who would normally be quite confident become very deferential.

'Tattoos have historically been a way of signalling rank and allegiance for example Guan Yu, the deity of brotherhood and war. But modern groups are increasingly reluctant to use them to reduce identification risk.'

Alongside the intricate hierarchy system, initiation processes are often secretive and ritualistic.

Richard explained that every triad's inauguration differs but share a few similar practices.

Discussing his initiation into WSW, he said: 'You start in your boxer shorts and they take a grapefruit branch and hit your back.

'They say they beat you to death and then bring you back.'

Afterwards the new member takes a sip of tea, before asking their new boss to do the same. Once the boss sips you have joined the 'brotherhood' - not just for that moment, but for life.

More than a dozen properties across Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford, Reading, Huddersfield and Clacton–on–Sea, have been vandalised with red paint

Red paint attacks are regularly used by loan sharks in Hong Kong and cities in mainland China to remind the owners to pay their debts or as an 'intimidation act' against rivals

Richard served his triad in London but claims bosses are now looking at our European neighbours to set up new networks.

Richard said: 'The Hong Kong leaders send people to Ireland, it's easy to get to and they're accepted and then from there they go across to Europe.'

Ireland is seen by triad bosses as a convenient transport hub to reach other parts of Europe as Hong Kong passport holders can enter the country for long stays without a visa.

Experts also believe Hong Kong gangs have built links with 'high–profile' crime families in Dublin and even Irish 'terror groups'.

However, in the past two years, there have been fresh concerns that triads are still wielding their influence across the UK – this time moving into suburban communities.

More than a dozen properties across Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford, Reading, Huddersfield and Essex, have been vandalised with red paint.

Attacks that, according to Professor Chan, are regularly used by loan sharks in Hong Kong and cities in mainland China to remind the owners to pay their debts or as an 'intimidation act' against rivals.

An attack that, according to Professor Chan, is regularly used by loan sharks in Hong Kong and cities in mainland China to remind the owners to pay their debts or as an 'intimidation act' against rivals.

He said: 'Red paint can mean two things. Either you are marking your territory against a rival gang or you are going after someone who owes money.

'When it is a turf dispute, the sequence is usually intimidation first, then the senior figures on both sides try to negotiate.

'If that breaks down, it can get violent.'

While throwing paint at rivals may seem like petty vandalism to the untrained eye, it masks the true chilling nature of triad power in Britain, expert David McKelvey explains.

Mr McKelvey a former detective chief inspector for the Metropolitan Police, who has been investigating triads for seven years, said 'They are without doubt the largest and most sophisticated criminal network in the UK.

'Chinese–based organised crime is far more sophisticated [than other gangs]. They sit under the radar, they don't operate in criminal areas that are taken seriously by police.

'For instance, tobacco manufacturing and smuggling they're running factories all over the UK, making billions of pounds, manufacturing it in factories where there's rat poison and droppings, so you've got people buying what they believe is cheap smuggled tobacco but they're actually manufactured in the UK.

'This has been going on for years the structure of their organisation cuts across all the cities and towns, there's also usually slaves who have been smuggled into the UK who have to work off their debts to the triads.'

He explained they 'sit below the radar' by dealing class C drugs like cannabis and tobacco to avoid the attention of law enforcement.

'It's a multi–national organised crime network, its got fingers everywhere,' Mr McKelvey added.

'They are operating at the most senior levels of criminality but shrewd enough to sit below the radar of law enforcement.'

• Richard Musa is now a mentor for vulnerable young people. To find out more about his community projects click here