The double homicide is being investigated as possibly connected to internal battles among Chinese criminal gangs in Italy.
A senior figure in Italy’s Chinese underworld and his female partner were killed in a mafia-style execution in Rome on Monday, according to Italian police.
Zhang Dayong, 53, known as “Asheng,” and his partner, Gong Xiaoqing, 38, were found dead on Monday outside their residence in the eastern Rome neighborhood of Pigneto, according to Italian police.
They had been shot in the back of the head.
The double homicide is being investigated as possibly connected to internal battles among Chinese criminal gangs fighting for control of lucrative business operations in Italy.
Investigators identified Zhang Dayong as an associate of Naizhong Zhang, a suspected gang boss currently on trial in Florence on charges of orchestrating illegal enterprises across Italy, France, Germany, and Spain, according to police and prosecutors.
Authorities allege that Naizhong Zhang built a near-monopoly on the distribution of goods throughout much of Europe by using threats and violence against Chinese business owners, according to prosecutors.
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Zhang Dayong was reportedly responsible for managing underground gambling, loan-sharking, and enforcement activities in the Italian capital, according to prosecutors.
Police officials said the killings may be linked to the so-called “Coat Hanger Wars,” a violent feud between Chinese criminal factions originally centered in Prato, near Florence, for dominance in the fashion logistics sector.
The roots of the conflict date back several years. In 2018, Italian authorities ordered the arrest of 33 individuals suspected of running a Chinese gang involved in gambling, prostitution, and drug trafficking, and which dominated the transport of Chinese goods across Europe, according to police.
The organization was based in Prato, a hub for the textile industry with many Chinese-owned factories, but its network extended to Rome, Milan, Padua, as well as Paris, Madrid, and Neuss, Germany, according to a police statement at the time.
Naizhong Zhang, the alleged leader, was based in Rome and reportedly used money he earned from illegal activities to build a powerful transport company that controlled trucking for thousands of Chinese firms, according to police.
In a wiretapped conversation published in court documents, Naizhong Zhang allegedly told associates: “If you go with me, you will live. If you go against me, you will die.”
Prato, the epicenter of Italy’s textile industry, has become a crossroads for both business and organized crime, with an increase in violence and exploitation, local prosecutor Luca Tescaroli wrote in a reply to questions in parliament, which was seen by Reuters.
The city hosts one of Europe’s largest concentrations of Chinese-run businesses, producing goods for major global fashion brands. Tescaroli noted that this environment has allowed mafia-type organizations, both Italian and foreign, to infiltrate the sector, and called for increased law enforcement resources to address the growing issue in the region.
Reuters contributed to this report.
