A brutal double slaying in Rome has jolted Italian investigators, who believe the deadly ambush marks the capital’s first mafia-style hit linked to Chinese organized crime.
Zhang Dayong, 53, known in underground circles as “Asheng,” and his 38-year-old girlfriend, Gong Xiaoqing, were shot dead just steps from their apartment in the Pigneto district. The couple, returning home by bicycle, were targeted by gunmen on a motorcycle who fired at least six rounds—aiming directly at their heads and chests—before vanishing into the night on foot.
Authorities suspect the attack wasn’t random. Instead, it’s seen as a chilling message in what officials have dubbed the “Coat Hanger Wars”—a violent and escalating feud between rival Chinese gangs battling for supremacy over Europe’s counterfeit fashion supply chain.
Investigators say the ongoing turf war, which first flared up in Prato—a textile powerhouse near Florence—is now spilling into other major European cities like Madrid and Paris. This underworld conflict centers around a multibillion-euro trade in fake designer goods, with Chinese-run sweatshops churning out knockoff Gucci, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton items under appalling conditions.
Zhang Dayong wasn’t just a foot soldier in this empire—he was a key figure. Linked to accused Chinese-Italian mafia boss Zhang Naizhong, Dayong allegedly ran rackets in Rome tied to gambling, extortion, and underground debt collection. Naizhong, now on trial in Florence, is suspected of using violence and intimidation to establish a near-total grip on fashion logistics across Italy, France, Spain, and Germany.
Dayong had previously been swept up in the 2018 “China Truck” investigation, a sprawling anti-mafia operation that pulled back the curtain on Chinese trafficking networks rooted in Prato. Yet despite this, the inner workings of these crime syndicates have remained largely impervious to law enforcement. Language barriers, a culture of silence, and watchful lookouts have stymied efforts—unlike Italy’s traditional mafias, where turncoats have occasionally broken ranks.
Rome’s latest killings, authorities believe, may reflect a deeper rift among criminal factions. With alliances shifting and longstanding hierarchies threatened, the attack may be part of a larger reshuffling of power within these covert empires.
Prosecutor Luca Tescaroli underscored the complexity of the web. Chinese Triad outfits, he noted, aren’t operating in a vacuum—they’ve forged ties with powerful European mafias, including the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, Sicily’s Cosa Nostra, and organized Albanian groups. Together, they form a sprawling, multinational crime network with shared interests and deadly reach.
Whether Rome has just witnessed an isolated strike or the beginning of more bloodshed remains to be seen. But one thing’s clear: the stakes in Europe’s counterfeit empire are higher—and deadlier—than ever.
