Chinese Triad crimelord & his wife gunned down in hail of bullets in execution-style killing by hitmen in Rome

A CHINESE Triad crimelord and his wife have been shot dead in a mafia-style execution in Rome.

Zhang Dayong, 53, also known as “Asheng,” was found dead alongside his partner Gong Xiaoqing, 38, outside their home in the eastern Roman neighbourhood of Pigneto, cops said.

AFP – Getty

A police official said the killings may be linked to the so-called ‘Coat Hanger Wars’[/caption]

The couple were returning home on bikes when the gun-wielding killers approached them on a motorcycle, local media reports.

They fired least six gunshots, hitting the backs of their heads, other reports add.

Investigators said Dayong worked for Naizhong Zhang – a Chinese-Italian crime boss on trial in Florence following an investigation into accusations he coordinated illegal operations across Italy, France, Germany, and Spain.

Zhang had accumulated a near-monopoly in distribution of goods across much of Europe through threats and violence against Chinese company owners, anti-mafia prosecutors revealed.

And Dayong was involved in managing underground gambling, loan-sharking and enforcement operations in the capital, according to prosecutors.

Dayong was seen as a central figure in a 2018 investigation dubbed “China Truck” – an anti-mafia operation led by Florence prosecutors that unveiled the activities of Chinese trafficking gangs in Prato, close to Florence.

A police official said the killings may be linked to the so-called “Coat Hanger Wars” which has escalated in recent years.

The Wars represent a violent struggle between Chinese criminal factions originally centred in Prato for the lucrative fashion logistics market.

The couple’s murder is said to represent a larger power struggle among Chinese cartels.

Such criminal activity has spread beyond Prato and has infiltrated other parts of Europe, like Madrid and Paris.

Prato alone has seen the rate of violent incidents rocket, including assaults, arson attacks and attempted murders – all of which point to the escalation of the ongoing deadly feud.