In 2000, Liu took a serious gamble in speaking publicly about the people smuggling business. Very few people dare to speak out against the gangs as retribution can be swift.

It is common knowledge that such large numbers of people cannot be smuggled out of China without the cooperation of various government officials and departments. The speed with which passports are churned out without all the relevant documentation is possible only because some officials in the Public Security Bureau are bribed by the snakeheads. When groups of up to 200 migrants are found aboard ships without the correct paperwork, the police turn a blind eye. Apparently some police officers accept bribes so regularly that they find it hard to extricate themselves and become de facto members of the Triad. Although the Chinese central government tries to clamp down on it, corruption in provincial government is a well-documented fact.

The Western media tends to make a distinction between Triads and snakeheads. However, it would seem that they are quite closely linked. Snakeheads or people smugglers could be seen as one department in the criminal corporation of Triads which are involved in drug smuggling, money laundering, loan-sharking and extortion, illegal gambling, DVD piracy, tax evasion and VAT fraud among other activities. People who become indebted to snakeheads because they cannot afford the cost of the journey may find themselves reduced to debt bondage, working for little or no pay for other Triad run businesses in order to repay their debts. In such circumstances, resistance is virtually impossible.