Santiago, April 4 – The El Barrio Meiggs region in Chile has emerged as an operational hub for the 'Bang Clan', a Chinese organized crime group with roots in the Fujian province on China's southeastern coast. The organization is involved in a range of criminal activities, including "intensive cannabis cultivation; human trafficking for labor and sexual exploitation; as well as the trafficking of synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine and ecstasy," according to a recent report.
Writing for 'The Diplomat', Antonio Castillo, a Latin American journalist, said that the Chilean authorities are facing a growing challenge as El Barrio Meiggs has become a hub for Chinese organized crime in the South American country.
He stated that the area has grown discreetly amid karaoke bars, gaming parlors, and retail Chinese malls, where legal businesses cover "illegal and criminal activities."
Castillo cited Chile's former Minister of Public Security, Luis Cordero, stating that the Chinese mafia relied on formal economic structures to carry out "their illicit activities," which included "trafficking of people, trafficking of migrants, illegal gambling, theft, extortion, and murder."
According to Castillo, the Chilean police uncovered large-scale Chinese organized crime in El Barrio Meiggs during operations in August and December 2025.
"There is a large Chinese mafia in the neighborhood. We have arrested dozens of people with a large number of weapons and a significant amount of money," Mario Desbordes, the Mayor of Santiago, was quoted as saying in the report.
The Bang Clan, the report mentioned, originates from the criminal networks historically associated with mafias in southern China, especially linked to Fujian-based structures that transformed from mutual aid societies into globalized criminal organisations.
Earlier in December 2025, the Chilean police dealt a major blow to the Bang Clan during 'Operation Great Wall', raiding the covert nightlife of El Barrio Meiggs.
"The operation led to the arrest of 30 individuals – 27 Chinese nationals, two Chileans, and one Bolivian. Among those arrested was also an active-duty police officer, who allegedly provided surveillance services and 'tipped off' the organisation regarding police operations," it added.
The report noted that in January, the Chilean authorities initiated formal hearings against 49 members of another Chinese mafia group based in the northern city of Iquique, situated around 1,760 km north of the capital Santiago.
The criminal group, identified as the "Clan Cheng", was led by a Chinese father and his two children.
Citing data from the Observatory of Organized Crime and Terrorism (OCRIT) at the University of Andres Bello in Santiago, the report said that the number of Chinese nationals detained in Chile has increased by 520 per cent over the past five years.