''Jao por'' (
Thai: เจ้าพ่อ, “godfather”) is a term used in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
to describe Thai organized crime groups.
Meaning of the term
''Chao pho'' or ''jao poh'' literally means “godfather.” Chao pho, mostly based in the provinces, have business interests in both legitimate and criminal activities. Moreover, they have groups of associates and followers, move closely with powerful bureaucrats, policemen and military figures, sit in positions in local administration, and play a key role in parliamentary elections.
Activities
According to Thai authorities, there are ''chao pho'' groups in 39 of
Thailand's 77 provinces. From these provinces they work like a local
mafia
"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
as they are active in both illegal as well as some legitimate businesses. They are involved in a wide range of criminal activities such as
prostitution,
drug trafficking,
illegal gambling
Gaming law is the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law, ...
and others. They are known for cooperating with the ''
Red Wa
The Red Wa is the most powerful organized crime gang in Thailand. The Red Wa come from Burma and they are associated with the United Wa State Army. They are composed of people from the Wa ethnic group and they work together with Chinese organiz ...
'' (who are associated with the
United Wa State Army
The United Wa State Army (; my, ဝပြည် သွေးစည်းညီညွတ်ရေး တပ်မတော်, ), abbreviated as the UWSA or the UWS Army, is the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), the ''de facto' ...
) for the trafficking and sale of narcotics.
[https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/213310.pdf ]
References
Organised crime groups in Thailand
Thai words and phrases
Chinese secret societies
Triad (organized crime)
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