He is truly a big player with links to an international organised crime syndicate, police have revealed.
From controlling high-ranking informants in the police to having ties with a fugitive Chinese triad boss, here are the details about Liow and his links to even bigger triads.
Just 33, and head of scam rings
The 33-year-old is the founder of the Winner Dynasty Group and is believed to be linked to syndicates involved in various scams.
He is said to have been mentored by a Chinese national named Zhang Jiang and operated a call centre in Puchong, where Chinese nationals helped conduct scams.
With 12 cases on his criminal record, he first gained notoriety in 2017 when he was arrested for assaulting two Rela personnel. He was eventually acquitted and discharged two years later after the victims agreed to a settlement.
This week, police arrested 68 individuals believed to be members of Liow’s gang while also seizing 16 luxury vehicles, including a Rolls-Royce and five Alphards, and foreign currency totalling over RM7 million in 70 raids conducted between March 20 and March 28.
Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador then revealed that Liow had informants within the police force, while a former deputy public prosecutor with a Datukship was also believed to be among those who leaked information on the police’s Pelican 3.0 operation, which was aimed at arresting Liow.
Ties with fugitive triad boss
Hamid also revealed that Liow had ties with fugitive Chinese triad boss Wan Kouk Koi, better known as Broken Tooth, who was reportedly believed to be hiding out and continuing his operations in Malaysia.
Wan, who is wanted by US and Australian authorities, had previously served 14 years in a Macau jail after being convicted of loan sharking, money laundering and heading a criminal group, before being released in 2012.
The former boss of the 14K triad is also the founder of the Hongmen World History and Culture Association, and appointed Liow as its vice-president in 2019.
Both Wan and the association have been blacklisted by the US’ Treasury Department over suspected involvement in international organised crime and money laundering.
Ironically, Wan was appointed non-executive chairman of Inix Technologies Holdings Bhd, a Bursa-listed company, in August last year, but resigned on Dec 2.
He is also being investigated by Malaysian police for fraud after failing to transfer Inix shares worth RM6 million to a third party as previously agreed.
Deeper down the rabbit hole
Wan is linked to international drug lord Tse Chi Lop, dubbed Asia’s El Chapo, who was detained in January this year in the Netherlands.
Led by the Australian Federal Police, the Chinese-born Canadian was arrested at Amsterdam airport on Jan 21 in an operation that involved 20 different enforcement agencies of various countries.
Tse is said to be the head of the international crime group Sam Gor, also known as The Company, which comprises five different triads in three different countries, namely 14K, Bamboo Union, Big Circle Boys, Sun Yee On and Wo Shing Wo.
Based in Asia Pacific, the organisation is primarily involved in drug trafficking, even doing business with the Yakuza in Japan and biker gangs in Australia.
A major producer and supplier of methamphetamines globally, Sam Gor is believed to launder its billions in drug money through businesses springing up in Southeast Asia’s Mekong region, including casinos, hotels and real estate.
In 2019, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that the organisation could be earning up to US$17.7 billion annually in revenue from its meth business.
Tse, whose nickname is also Sam Gor (which in Cantonese translates to third brother), is in prison in the Netherlands, where a court has yet to rule on his extradition to Australia.