Hong Kong police went after organized crime groups

How to use this blog: First, please review the vocabulary list and understand the meanings of the words.  Then, please read the article provided.  Refer back to the vocabulary list if you do not remember the meanings of some words.

By reviewing the vocabulary words over and over, they will begin to 'stick' in your memory and you will be able to use them when you speak. 

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Here's a little story showing that if a city or country is serious enough about eliminating (getting rid of) organized crime, they can probably do it.

The article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-23825028

Vocabulary to help you understand the article:

to smash - in this case the BBC claims that the Hong Kong police destroyed an organized crime organization.  To smash something is to hit something with a lot of force from above, crushing it.

a crime ring - in this case 'ring' means 'organization.'

to arrest someone - when the police believe someone has committed a crime and they take the person into the station to be 'charged' with a crime.  To charge someone with a crime is to officially state that there is enough evidence to believe that the person committed the crime. The person then receives a trial in a courtroom.  A trial is the process in which a person is determined to be guilty or innocent.

a crackdown - when the police or a government cracks down on something, they attack that thing using a great amount of force.  If, for instance, there is a lot of illegal gambling in a city and the city cracks down on it, the police go after the gamblers and arrest them.

a triad - a triad is 'three' of something.  I am not sure why these gangs are called triads.

to raid some place - this is when the police enter a place suddenly and secretly using a lot of force.

a disco - a place where people listen to music and dance

a massage parlor - parlour is the English spelling.  This is a place where people get massages.  Many times a massage parlor is really a place where people can visit prostitutes.  A prostitute is a woman who sells her body for money.  Recently the NY City police cracked down on prostitution in many massage parlors in Brooklyn.

an operation - in this case operation means 'project' - if the police engaged in a month long operation, it took them 1 month of planning etc. to accomplish their goal.

pornography - pornography is 'x'-rated material.  Pornography is, basically, movies or books or magazines that are completely sexual or which just show sexual activities and cannot be thought of as 'art.'

undercover - secret

charged with offenses - accused of having committed various crimes

money laundering - when you have dirty clothes, you take them to a laundromat to get them laundered (clean).  Money laundering is a process through which 'dirty' money can be made to seem like 'clean' money.  Accountants can be used to try various tricks to make it seem as if money was made legally, when, in fact, it was made illegally.

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Question for discussion/writing:

These triads have been around a long time. The article states that they have deep roots in communities.  Why do you think the police acted now, suddenly, after so many years?