The Triads, FSU, and 6 Other Notorious Gangs That Started With Good Intentions (8 photos)

Who would have thought that some of the world's most notorious criminal syndicates actually started out with good intentions? Take the Chinese Triads, for example: they were originally formed to overthrow a corrupt ruling dynasty and end imperial rule. Meanwhile, the American group FSU set out to stamp out the racism and neo-Nazism rampant in 1980s Boston.

Read on to discover other organizations that set out to fight injustice, only to lose their moral compass along the way.





"He who slays the dragon becomes the dragon ©"

Tongs

The Tongs were secret organizations formed by Chinese immigrants living in the US, Canada, and to a lesser extent, Australia and the UK. Initially, people joined forces to protect themselves against racism and crime. They helped fellow countrymen find jobs, housing, learn the language, and settle into their new homes. Over time, however, members turned to illegal activities themselves: trafficking opium, running gambling dens, operating brothels, and even working as hitmen.



The Tongs were never a single unified entity. Different factions operated across various countries—and even within different neighborhoods of the same city—frequently clashing in violent turf wars. This prolonged struggle for power eventually led to the breakdown of the movement. While several Tong organizations still exist today, they now eschew crime and focus strictly on their original civic and fraternal mission.

ÑETA

The Puerto Rican gang ÑETA originated in the 1970s behind bars. Inmates at the Oso Blanco maximum-security prison joined forces to stand up against rival prison gangs and protect fellow prisoners from guard abuse.





By the mid-1980s, ÑETA's numbers had swelled, allowing them to effectively take control of seven major prisons across the island. Operating as a unified force, the inmates intimidated prison administrators to push their demands. One such demand was isolating pedophiles and rapists in solitary confinement to keep them away from the general population. Over time, however, ÑETA devolved into a ruthless criminal enterprise: members began trafficking drugs, running extortion rings, and committing brutal acts of intimidation and murder.

FSU

Friends Stand United (FSU) emerged in the US during the late 1980s as an anti-fascist, anti-drug, and anti-racist crew. Hardcore musician Elgin James rallied his friends to take a stand against crime and injustice, attracting dozens of like-minded individuals over time. Yet in their crusade against lawlessness, FSU members frequently resorted to violent vigilante tactics, breaking the very laws they sought to uphold.



The group quickly earned a reputation for extreme aggression, eventually morphing into the very monsters they set out to fight. FSU members have been implicated in dozens of crimes, including murders, robberies, extortion, and assault. Today, most of these former "vigilantes" are behind bars—including founder Elgin James, who served time for attempting to extort $5,000 from a member of the rock band Mest.

The Triads

The Triads originally formed as a resistance movement aiming to overthrow the Qing dynasty. The earliest societies emerged on the island of Taiwan, where loyalists to the defeated Ming dynasty fled after being ousted by the Qing conquerors.



As time went on, the Triads expanded rapidly in both size and scope. They regulated trade, aided Chinese immigration to Europe and North America, and operated primarily as mutual-aid societies. Eventually, however, virtually all Triad networks drifted into organized crime—embracing drug trafficking, prostitution, armed robbery, illegal gambling, and human trafficking.

Latin Kings

The Latin Kings were originally established in Chicago by a small group of Latino immigrants seeking to protect their community from racial violence and discrimination. Most recruits were underprivileged youths from Puerto Rican and Mexican backgrounds who lacked social support and economic security—things the "Kings" promised to provide.



The movement grew rapidly. Over time, the gang opened its doors not only to Latinos, but also to Black and white members who shared their stance against racism. To finance their expanding footprint, however, the Kings inevitably turned to criminal enterprises, primarily drug distribution and theft.

MS-13

Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13, is today considered one of the most violent and rapidly expanding criminal organizations in the Americas. Yet it originally started in Los Angeles during the 1980s as a self-defense clique to protect Salvadoran immigrants from established local street gangs. As immigration surged, so did MS-13's membership. The gang quickly set up cliques across multiple cities, growing powerful enough to spark a widespread deportation crackdown by US authorities.



Back in El Salvador, deported MS-13 members encountered a brutal street culture. To establish dominance, the gang waged a violent turf war, eventually seizing control of entire neighborhoods and penal institutions at the cost of countless lives. Over the years, MS-13 has become notorious for murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, and racketeering, maintaining a reign of terror predominantly across El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

The Mafia

The Sicilian Mafia took root in the second half of the 19th century amid rampant lawlessness and political instability. For generations, the island's inhabitants had suffered under foreign rule, enduring oppression, exploitation, and abuse from occupational authorities.



In response, local vigilante groups began organizing to protect their communities against oppressive rulers. These early vigilantes robbed the wealthy to aid the poor, provided private loans, assisted families in distress, and meted out local justice. Yet despite operating under a strict code of honor and moral "commandments," these self-styled protectors ultimately laid the groundwork for modern organized crime.