The content of this article is based on authoritative historical data, and there are citations at the end of the article.
In the middle of the night in Hong Kong, there is silence, and the sound of hurried footsteps echoes in the narrow alleys. As soon as Hu Jishu stepped out of the prison gate, his mood was not as relaxed as he expected. This former "big tycoon group" think tank, after being released from prison, the free body did not bring him much respite. Hong Kong, a bustling metropolis that was once a haven for their illegal activities, is now full of uncertainty and risk.
Years ago, when Zhang Ziqiang was sentenced to death, gunfire rang out in the sky before dawn, and the end of that criminal empire seemed to have settled.
Zhang Ziqiang's death marked the end of an era, but the story of the three key members under his command did not end there. What did they do?
In Hong Kong's criminal history, Cheung is undoubtedly a striking figure. The boldness of his criminal methods and the madness of his actions have made him the most well-known of the "Three Thieves".
In the course of Zhang Ziqiang's crimes, several major and special cases are particularly prominent, which not only shook Hong Kong, but also attracted widespread attention from the international community.
Among them, Zhang Ziqiang's action at Hong Kong International Airport was particularly bold. The incident occurred late at night, when Zhang Ziqiang and his team infiltrated the airport's cargo area, targeting a shipment of priceless Rolex watches. The watches were originally intended to be shipped by air to luxury stores around the world.
Zhang Ziqiang and his accomplices quickly took control of the scene, loaded the watch into the prepared vehicle in an extremely professional manner, and quickly fled the scene. In less than 30 minutes, the whole operation successfully snatched millions of Hong Kong dollars worth of watches, leaving a place of panic and confusion.
What is even more shocking are the two kidnapping cases involved in Zhang Ziqiang. The first was the kidnapping of Li Ka-shing's son Li Zekai.
The incident took place in a remote mansion area, where Zhang Ziqiang and his team members raided Li Zekai's residence in the middle of the night, taking advantage of the concealment of the surrounding environment to quickly control Li Zekai and take him away from the scene.
Subsequently, Zhang Ziqiang made a ransom demand of up to HK$1 billion to Li Ka-shing over the phone. Throughout the case, Zhang Ziqiang showed extreme strategy and caution to ensure his safety and confidentiality in the transaction.
Soon after, Zhang Ziqiang again planned and carried out the kidnapping of Guo Bingxiang, the eldest son of another wealthy man, Guo Desheng.
This time, he chose to strike at Guo Bingxiang on his way to his company, forcing Guo Bingxiang's vehicle to stop through an elaborate roadblock, and then quickly hijacking it. In this kidnapping, Zhang Ziqiang also demanded a huge ransom, amounting to 600 million Hong Kong dollars.
Similar to Li Zekai's kidnapping case, Zhang Ziqiang also showed a high degree of tact and calmness in handling the incident, making the whole operation both swift and secretive.
Zhang Ziqiang's criminal career finally came to an end on January 25, 1998, when he and his longtime accomplice Hu Jishu were stopped and arrested by the police at a checkpoint at the Jiangmen Waihai Bridge.
On the same day, the police conducted a detailed inspection of the two people's vehicles during a routine traffic check. During the inspection, the police found a variety of suspicious items and a large amount of cash hidden in the car, which quickly alerted the police and further intensified the cross-examination of the two.
During the interrogation, the police quickly united with multiple departments to verify the true identities of Zhang Ziqiang and Hu Jishu by relying on the information they had previously obtained from the "Tycoon Group" and the clues found in the car.
Subsequently, additional police forces were mobilized to the checkpoint, ensuring the smooth operation of the arrest of the two men. After their arrest, Zhang Ziqiang and Hu Jishu were quickly transferred to the police station for further interrogation.
In the following investigation, the police successfully unearthed more details about the "Tycoon Group" criminal network by combing through a large amount of evidence and information, including the identities of other gang members and the specifics of their criminal activities. Through these in-depth investigations, the police were able to fully understand and ultimately dismantle this vast criminal network.
In the subsequent trial, Zhang Ziqiang and four key members of his team – Chen Zhihao, Ma Shangzhong, Liang Hui and Qian Hanshou – were sentenced to death by the court for their central roles in a number of major criminal activities.
At the same time, Hu Jishu chose to cooperate with the police during the investigation and trial of the case, providing key information about Zhang Ziqiang and other gang members.
Hu Jishu's cooperation played an important role in the police's complete destruction of the criminal network of the "tycoon group". As a result of his cooperative attitude, Hu Jishu was eventually granted relative leniency by the court and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Hu Jishu's behavior in prison was recognized by the prison administration, and his participation in various rehabilitation activities within the prison led to his early release in 2008 due to his apparent obedience and enthusiasm.
Hu Jishu's behavior after being released from prison quickly proved that he did not reform in the true sense of the word, but found another way to continue his criminal activities.
After being released from prison, Hu Jishu faced the reality that he was over half a hundred years old and lacked legal professional skills and job opportunities. Under these circumstances, Hu Jishu did not choose to be a new person, but soon returned to the criminal world he was familiar with.
He contacted old acquaintances Chen Mouhan and A Feng, who were released from prison a few years earlier, who were also former criminals and had similar backgrounds and experiences to Hu Jishu.
After the three of them reunited, they soon planned to start a new criminal activity. Given the geographical advantages of Hong Kong and the surrounding area in the drug trade, they chose drug trafficking, a highly lucrative but equally risky illegal activity.
To carry out this illegal business, Hu and his associates set out to build a drug supply network covering Hong Kong and its neighboring regions.
Using Mr. Hu's old connections in criminal circles, they quickly established links with overseas drug suppliers and devised a complex transportation and distribution plan.
In order to ensure the secrecy and security of the drug trade, Hu Jishu developed a complex system of transaction and transportation codes. He and his accomplices used code names to refer to different kinds and specifications of drugs.
These codes are often a combination of certain letters or numbers based on the drug's characteristics, source, or destination, making it difficult to understand the true meaning of the information even if it is intercepted by outsiders.
For example, they might refer to a certain type of cocaine from South America as "SA1", while "SA" stands for South America, and the numbers indicate that this is their first shipment.
In addition, Hu Jishu also made careful arrangements for the transportation route and time of drugs. They often choose to transport drugs during less noticeable times or by unusual routes, as a way to reduce the risk of detection.
For example, they may choose to smuggle drugs from other places to small islands near Hong Kong in small fishing boats in the early hours of the morning or dusk, and then transfer them to urban areas.
Whenever drugs enter the country, Hu Jishu is always the first to leave the scene to avoid direct association with drugs. He usually chooses to temporarily travel outside Hong Kong, such as Macau or a city in Chinese mainland, and stay there until he thinks it is safe and the limelight has passed. After making sure that there was no police investigation, he would quietly return to Hong Kong and continue his criminal activities.
This cautious approach has allowed Hu and his team to successfully bring large quantities of drugs into Hong Kong on several occasions and make a lot of money from them.
Each successful transport brings them huge financial returns, while also bringing more money and resources to their criminal network to sustain and expand their criminal empire.
Although Hu Jishu has taken numerous measures to ensure the secrecy and safety of his operations, it is always difficult to completely avoid the risks of long-term criminal activities.
The police tracked him down not completely because of his caution. As his stature in the criminal world grew, the police investigation of him became more intensive and precise.
Although the success of each drug shipment brought him temporary victories and profits, it also invisibly increased the risk of arrest and laid the groundwork for his eventual arrest.
In 2009, after collecting information from various sources and tracking clues, the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Shenzhen Municipal Public Security Bureau launched a special operation against Hu Jishu and his criminal gang.
This operation is based on a series of intelligence analysis and preliminary investigations, and the Shenzhen police have successfully identified the key nodes and operation patterns of Hu Jishu's team in drug trafficking.
Through precise investigations, the police gradually uncovered the coverage and deep structure of Hu Jishu's drug trafficking network.
In the months that followed, the police gradually and meticulously deconstructed Hu's criminal network. They monitored the address book associated with Hu Jishu and tracked his movements and trading activities through technical means.
The police took a series of measures during the operation, including covert tracking of Hu and his accomplices, interception of communications, and cooperation with other law enforcement agencies to obtain more direct evidence.
After months of intensive investigation, the police finally identified the key members of Hu Jishu's team, the location of its operations, and the key moments and locations of the drug trade.
In late 2009, the Criminal Investigation Bureau organized a large-scale raid that targeted several key points of the Hu Jishu criminal gang, including their storage points, trading venues and the residences of individual members. The operation resulted in the capture of dozens of gang members and the seizure of large quantities of drugs and money for the transaction.
In 2011, Hu Jishu and his main accomplices were tried in the first instance by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Considering the seriousness of Hu Jishu's criminal behavior and the harm to society, the court sentenced him to death with a two-year reprieve.
This verdict has attracted widespread attention in society and is regarded as a powerful response to serious crimes, upholding social justice and the seriousness of the law.
Hu Jishu was dissatisfied with the verdict and appealed. His grounds of appeal focused on the challenge of evidence and disputes over the application of law. However, the Guangdong Provincial High People's Court reviewed the case in 2012.
After hearing the case, the High People's Court held that the judgment of the court of first instance was based on conclusive grounds and that the trial procedures were lawful, so it rejected Hu Jishu's appeal and upheld the original judgment.
From Jiangmen Public Security Bureau. Jiangmen Public Security Chronicles[M]. 2006