The Snakehead
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114 For Ah Kay she prepared: Ah Kay testimony, Sister Ping trial.
114.When the FBI: Interview with Konrad Motyka and Bill McMurry, October 31, 2005.
115.She would later claim: Written response from Sister Ping; Sister Ping sentencing remarks.
115 Prosecutors would later describe: Closing arguments of Leslie Brown, Sister Ping trial.
115 Before long she was offering: Ah Kay testimony, Zhang Zi trial.
116 But it has also been suggested: Interview with Stephen Wong, November 11, 2005. Also see “The Mother of All Snakeheads,” Asian Pacific News Service, July 10, 2003.
116 During the period when Ah Kay: Interview with Peter Lee, January 31, 2006; written declaration of Special Agent Peter Lee.
CHAPTER 7: MOMBASA
This chapter draws primarily on a dozen hours of interviews with Sean Chen, conducted during several trips to Philadelphia, where he lives today. For additional details in the account of the journey through Burma to Thailand, I relied on the recollections of Michael Chen, one of Sean’s fellow passengers aboard the Golden Venture, who followed the same busy route from Fujian to Bangkok. During the months that the Najd II was stranded in Mombasa, a Kenyan journalist named Matiko Bohoko covered the story for several local papers and boarded the ship. Bohoko still lives and works in Kenya, and in addition to discussing his recollections of the incident with me, he was kind enough to do some additional research and track down some old clippings from the local press. The current and former staff at Mombasa’s Missions to Seamen (which is now called the Mission to Seafarers) also supplied valuable memories and documents.
117 Sean Chen stood: Unless otherwise noted, all material relating to the experience of Sean Chen in China, Thailand, Kenya, and the United States is based on interviews with Sean Chen, February 6, 2008, and June 5, 2008.
119 This was Burma’s: Transcript of an interview with Donald Ferrarone, chief, DEA office in Bangkok, 1993–1995, conducted by the PBS television program Frontline for an episode called “The Opium Kings” in 1996, available on the Frontline Web site (www.pbs.org/frontline).
119 “When the DEA”: “Khun Sa: Ruthless Burmese Warlord Who Dominated the World’s Heroin Trade,” obituary, Times (London), November 5, 2007.
119 Sean joined another clandestine: Some of the details of the general conditions on the crossing into Burma are drawn from an interview with another Golden Venture passenger, Michael Chen, December 17, 2005. (Michael Chen’s story is told in greater detail in Patrick Radden Keefe, “The Snakehead: The Criminal Odyssey of Chinatown’s Sister Ping,” The New Yorker, April 24, 2006.)
123 Thai police officers demanded: Information about raids by the police is drawn from the Michael Chen interview. (Michael Chen’s safe house was raided on a number of occasions, and he was thrown into prison.)
124 The ship’s hull was painted: The physical description of the ship is drawn from the entry on the Aramoana (later the Najd II) in the New Zealand Maritime Record.
124 But the chief snakehead: Weng Yu Hui testimony, Sister Ping trial.
125 Weng was curious: Sister Ping sentencing remarks.
125 Then in 1991: Weng Yu Hui testimony, Sister Ping trial.
125 Weng’s new business grew: Ibid.
125 So unmatched was Sister Ping’s: Interview with Konrad Motyka and Bill McMurry, October 31, 2005. Sister Ping alluded to this situation herself in her sentencing hearing in 2006, when she claimed that those conducting smuggling operations “in her name” had not in fact been employees or associates of hers at all.
126 Her younger brother: Weng Yu Hui testimony, Sister Ping trial; interview with Konrad Motyka and Bill McMurry, December 15, 2005.
126 Weng would put: Weng Yu Hui testimony, Sister Ping trial. There is some disagreement about the precise number of passengers Weng had. In his testimony in Sister Ping’s trial, he said about thirty. But according to government documents, the number was closer to forty. (See, for example, the government’s appellate brief in U.S. v. Fei, No. 98-1713, November 4, 1999.)
126 Mr. Charlie found: The charter arrangement was dated July 10, 1992. The registered owner of the ship was Najd Trading and Construction, of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. See Aung. K. Mynt & 17 Others v. Owners of M/V Najd II, Admiralty Cause No. 21 of 1992 in the High Court of Kenya at Mombasa, ruling, March 23, 1993.
126 They ran aground: Internal INS document, “A Chronology of Alien Smuggling by Sea,” June 22, 1994; Peter Woolrich, Michael Chugani, and Matiko Bohoko, “Every Day New Details Are Coming to Light of a Mass Exodus,” South China Morning Post, February 14, 1993; Faison, South of the Clouds, p. 122.
127 In addition to chartering: Interview with Donald Monica, formerly of the INS, June 9, 2008.
127 The Indian Ocean: William Langewiesche, The Outlaw Sea (New York: North Point, 2004), p. 62.
127 Finally, on September 4, 1992: INS, “A Chronology of Alien Smuggling by Sea.”
127 The Najd II hobbled: Ibid.; confidential interview with an ICE official.
128 But the port authorities: “Kenyans Puzzled by Mystery Ship,” Calgary Herald (Alberta), December 3, 1992.
128 It would subsequently emerge: Interview with Donald Monica, June 9, 2008.
128 One of the ship’s officers: INS, “A Chronology of Alien Smuggling by Sea;” interview with Sean Chen.
128 After another grueling two weeks: The Najd II arrived in Mombasa on October 6. INS, “A Chronology of Alien Smuggling by Sea.”
128 Kenya was already reeling: “Kenyans Puzzled by Mystery Ship.”
128 But when the ship entered Mombasa: “Kenya Detains 240 Chinese Holding Fake Thai Passports,” Agence France Presse, November 26, 1992.
128 To compound matters: Li Xing Hua testimony, Sister Ping trial.
128 A delegation from Mombasa’s: Interview with Richard Diamond, who was chaplain at the Missions to Seamen, Mombasa, between 1990 and 2000, February 19, 2007.
129 As the Kenyan authorities: Report on the Search of M/V Najd II on 21st Nov 1992, by Jonathan New, assistant chaplain at Missions to Seamen, Mombasa; interview with Jay New, April 5, 2007.
129 Most of the passengers: The detail about life preservers is from United States v. Fei, 225 F.3d 167, at 169.
130 Some constructed small rafts: Interview with Richard Diamond, February 19, 2007.
130 In Baghdad or Mogadishu: For a fascinating account of Fujianese entrepreneurs seeking their fortunes in war-torn Baghdad, see Bay Fang, “Bad Fortune: Big Trouble in Iraq’s Little China,” New Republic, July 10 and 17, 2006.
130 Dozens of people: Interview with Richard Diamond, February 19, 2007.
131 The Kenyans continued: Erick Omondi, “Mystery Ship Saga Now Deepens,” Kenya Times Shipping Guide, December 4, 1992.
131 Eventually, many of them: Interview with Donald Monica, June 9, 2008.
131 At one point a delegation: Ibid.
131 For a time there was a rumor: Minutes of the Executive Committee of the Missions to Seamen, Mombasa, January 21, 1993.
131 According to several people: Sean Chen, Michael Chen, and Dong Xu Zhi all confirmed this account. The New York Times’s Seth Faison reports in his book that all the women on board were raped, but I was unable to corroborate that. Matiko Bohoko reported at the time and has since repeated in interviews that several of the women were being held as “sex slaves.” For what it’s worth, Kin Sin Lee, the snakeheads’ chief representative aboard the Golden Venture, said in testimony that he had heard about rapes on the Najd II and that none of the twenty-seven women aboard the Golden Venture were raped, in part because he had announced that any man who raped a woman on board would be thrown into the sea. Testimony of Kin Sin Lee in United States v. Kin Sin Lee, et al., 93 CR 694, June 28, 1994.
132 In November, Weng flew: Weng Yu Hui testimony, Sister Ping trial.
132.This was indeed: Li Xing Hua testimony, Sister Ping trial; Cho Yee Yeung testimony, Sister Ping trial.
CHAPTER 8: THE PHANTOM SHIP
; This chapter is based on a research trip I made in the spring of 2007 to Thailand, where I managed to track down Pao Pong, who is now working with the Bangkok Immigration Police, and interview him. I visited the beach in Pattaya where the Golden Venture passengers boarded the speedboats, and conducted several interviews with Mark Riordan, the former INS officer who was based in Thailand at the time and worked with Pao Pong to stop the operation. Other major sources include interviews with half a dozen passengers from the Golden Venture, most importantly Sean Chen, Michael Chen, and Dong Xu Zhi; notes from law enforcement interviews with Captain Amir Tobing; and court records from subsequent legal proceedings against Kin Sin Lee, Lee Peng Fei, and Sister Ping.
133.On the evening of: Unless other wise indicated, the details of Pao Pongs experience on the night of November 14, 1993, are drawn from an interview with Senior Sergeant Major Pao Pong, Bangkok Immigration Police, and Senior Sergeant Major Thana Srinkara, Pattaya Tourist Police, March 8, 2007.
134 The Tourist Police had received an alert: Interview with Mark Riordan, June 7, 2007.
135 By the time Pao Pong: Ibid.
135 But someone had warned the ship: Kin Sin Lee testimony, transcript of Fatico Hearing Before the Honorable Reena Raggi in United States v. Huag Shao Ming et. al., CR-93-0694, June 27, 1994; also see Anthony DeStefano, “Feds Seeking Ship Suspect,” Newsday, January 7, 1994.
135 That night Pao Pong: Unless otherwise indicated, material relating to Mark Riordan’s experience as an INS investigator in Thailand is based on interviews with Mark Riordan on June 7, 2007, and May 20, 2008.
135 When Riordan questioned: “Thai Police Bust Human Smuggling Ring, Arrest 68 Chinese,” Agence France Presse, February 16, 1993; interviews with Mark Riordan, June 7, 2007, and May 20, 2008.
137 Mr. Charlie’s real name: Interview with Mark Riordan, June 7, 2007.
137 A week after meeting: Weng Yu Hui testimony, Sister Ping trial; Ah Kay testimony, Sister Ping trial.
137.The ship had been used: Seth Faison, “Hunt Goes on for Smuggler in Fatal Trip,” New York Times, July 18, 1993.
138.In Singapore, Lee met: Supple mental criminal incident report (based on an interview with Amir Tobing), William Stray, June 7, 1993.
138 A prosecutor later described: Interview with Jodi Avergun, former assistant United States attorney in the Eastern District of New York, May 24, 2007.
138 Lee enlisted a crew: United States v. Moe, 64 F.3d 245, at 247.
138 They laid plywood planks: Undated Coast Guard document, “Post Seizure Analysis—M/V Golden Venture.”
138 Charlie purchased: Kin Sin Lee testimony, transcript of Fatico hearing.
138 He gave Kin Sin Lee money: Supplemental criminal incident report, William Stray, June 7, 1993.
138 Just before the Tong Sern was to leave: Weng Yu Hui testimony, Sister Ping trial.
138.It was decided: Government appellate brief in United States v. Lee, 122 F.3d 1058, Second Circuit Court of Appeals, April 12, 1995.
139.As the ship headed out: Com plaint in United States v. Moe, 93 CR 00694.
139 But during Prohibition: See “Two American Liners Now Fly Panama Flag,” New York Times, December 6, 1922.
139.In the years since: Jim Morris, “‘Flags of Convenience’ Give Owners a Paper Refuge,” Houston Chronicle, Au gust 22, 1996.
140.Dozens of other countries: Robert Neff, “Flags That Hide the Dirty Truth,” Asia Times, April 19, 2007; “Bolivia Waves the Flag,” The Economist, May 27, 2000; James Brooke, “Landlocked Mongolia’s Seafaring Tradition,” New York Times, July 2, 2004; Langewiesche, The Outlaw Sea, p. 5.
140 But if this system worked: See Jayant Abhyankar, “Phantom Ships,” in Eric Ellen, ed., Shipping at Risk: The Rising Tide of International Organized Crime (Essex, United Kingdom: International Maritime Bureau of the International Chamber of Commerce’s Commercial Crime Services, 1997).
140 As the Tong Sern sailed: Jimmy Breslin, “A Familiar Refrain: It’s Not My Fault,’” Newsday, June 8, 1993.
141 While the Golden Venture: Weng Yu Hui testimony, Sister Ping trial.
141 Late on the night of April 2: INS, “A Chronology of Alien Smuggling by Sea;” Aung K Mynt & 17 Others v. Owners of M/V Najd II, Admiralty Cause No. 21 of 1992 in the High Court of Kenya at Mombasa, ruling, March 23, 1993.
141 Of the three hundred or so passengers: Weng Yu Hui testimony, Sister Ping trial.
141 Nor were they the only ones: Interview with Donald Monica, June 9, 2008.
141 He telephoned: Weng Yu Hui testimony, Sister Ping trial.
141 Sean Chen was aboard: Interview with Sean Chen, February 6, 2008.
142 Kin Sin Lee had selected: United States v. Moe, 64 F.3d 245, at 247; letter from United States Attorney Zachary W. Carter to United States District Judge Reena Raggi, re: United States v. Kin Sin Lee, et al., 93 CR 694, April 29, 1994.
142 Sean entered the hatch: Interviews with Sean Chen, February 6, 2008, and June 5, 2008.
142 The passengers were divided: Letter from Carter to Raggi, re: United States v. Kin Sin Lee, et al.
142 The hold was hot: Faison, South of the Clouds, p. 124.
142 There was only one bathroom: Interview with Sean Chen, February 6, 2008.
143 The air grew thick: Faison, South of the Clouds, p. 124.
143 Captain Tobing, Kin Sin Lee: Sam Lwin testimony in United States v. Huang Shao Ming, et. al., 93-0694; transcript of Fatico hearing.
143 The supply of fresh water: Mae Cheng, “Golden Venture Unfinished Story,” Newsday, May 31, 1998.
143 Each passenger was allotted: Interview with Michael Chen, December 17, 2005.
143 Their skin broke out: Melinda Liu, Frank Gibney, Jr., Susan Miller, and Tom Morganthau, “The New Slave Trade,” Newsweek, June 21, 1993.
143 When they did: Letter from Carter to Raggi, re: United States v. Kin Sin Lee, et al.
143 Kin Sin Lee was clearly fearful: Interview with Sean Chen, June 5, 2008; Diana Jean Schemo, “Chinese Immigrants Tell of Darwinian Voyage,” New York Times, June 12, 1993.
143 He vowed to throw: Testimony of Sam Lwin in United States v. Kin Sin Lee, et al., 93 CR 694, June 23, 1994.
143 One man cried: Interview with Michael Chen, December 17, 2005.
144 Another man brought: Schemo, “Chinese Immigrants Tell of Darwinian Voyage.”
144 “I think it changed”: Liu, Gibney, Miller, and Morganthau, “The New Slave Trade.”
144 As the Golden Venture neared: The account of the storm is based on interviews with Sean Chen, Michael Chen, and Dong Xu Zhi.
144 There were no lifeboats: United States v. Lee Peng Fei, 225 F.3d 167, Second Circuit Court of Appeals, November 4, 1999.
144 After two days the storm subsided: Sam Lwin testimony in United States v. Huang Shao Ming, et. al., 93-0694; transcript of Fatico hearing. INS officials were aware that the ship had stopped at Cape Infanta, a fact that was confirmed for me in a confidential interview with an official at ICE.
144 Despite the adversity: The account of the community that emerged is drawn largely from my interview with Michael Chen, but also from interviews with Sean Chen and Dong Xu Zhi.
CHAPTER 9: THE TEANECK MASSACRE
This chapter is based primarily on interviews with law enforcement officials who investigated the Fuk Ching gang, the splinter faction established by Dan Xin Lin, and the murders in Teaneck, New Jersey. In addition to numerous internal FBI investigative files, I drew on a nearly complete case file compiled by the Bergen County Prosecutors Office during the Teaneck investigation, including crime scene reports, witness interviews, autopsy reports, and so forth. I visited Akiva Fleischmann in Teaneck, and he showed me the house where the massacre took place and walked me through the geography of the neighborhood. I also drew on the testimony of Alan Tam and others at the ensuing trial, and on the terrific coverage of the killings and the trial in the Bergen County Record.
146 On his identity card: Identity card for Kwok Ling Kay (aka Guo Liang Qi
, aka Ah Kay), issued by the Fukienese American Association. The card was shown to me by Luke Rettler, who has held on to it as a memento of the investigation.
146 One of these newcomers: Interview/statement of Dan Xin Lin, Bergen County Prosecutors Office, May 26, 1993.
146 Dan Xin had been: Report of an interview with Ronald Chao, aka China Man, by representatives of the FBI and the Teaneck Police Department, April 5, 1994.
147 Ah Kay was developing: Interview with Konrad Motyka and Bill McMurry, October 31, 2005.
147 Dan Xin was ambitious: Ibid.
147 Dan Xin had contacts: FBI confidential informant report, September 23, 1993, File # 281E-NY-196708.
147.In the summer of 1992: Report of an interview with Ronald Chao, aka China Man.
148.“Dan Xin wanted”: Remark by Prosecutor William J. Murray during Alan Tam testimony, the Teaneck trial.
148 After the incident in Washington: Testimony of Tu Wei Chung in State of New Jersey v. Dan Xin Lin, et al., Bergen County (1995) (hereafter, Tu Wei Chung testimony, the Teaneck trial).
148 Before long, Dan Xin: Confidential source.
148 “What are my shortcomings?”: Ibid.
148 He accused Dan Xin: Ibid.
148 Ah Kay thought the move: Ibid.
148 He warned Dan Xin: Ibid.
148 Ah Kay didn’t make: Ah Kay testimony, Zhang Zi trial.
149 But on January 8, 1993: Case report, homicide investigation of Yu Ping Zhang, et. al., Bergen County Prosecutors Office, February 18, 1994.
149.“Do it”: The account of this ex change and the shooting at the beeper store is drawn from an interview with Luke Rettler, in which he referred to affidavits filed by the investigating officers, crime scene specialists, and Dan Xin Lin himself, May 30, 2008. (The detail of the singeing of Dan Xin’s hair comes from Dan Xin’s own account of the incident, delivered to authorities after he escaped unharmed.) Also see Seth Faison, “How a Betrayal Snagged a Chinese Gang Leader,” New York Times, August 31, 1993.
150.The police had heard: Ah Kay testimony, Zhang Zi trial.
150 Ah Kay was unhappy: Interview with Konrad Motyka and Bill McMurry, December 15, 2005.