Yi Tianxing was the elder brother of Yi Tiansi, the current head of the Yi Family, Macau's underground arms dealers, and the leader of the JC Group, a mysterious arms-manufacturing organization in Southeast Asia.
He occupied a very prominent place in the Hong Kong Island Police Force's database, and even in the National Security Department's classified archives.
Although the information Mr. Gao had revealed was, for the moment, merely a claim without definite corroboration.
The mention of the JC Group and Yi Tianxing nevertheless immediately drew Lau Bo-keung's close attention.
Even though the Hong Kong Island Police Force had never dealt with them directly, their indirect clashes had certainly been numerous.
A substantial portion of the arms in Southeast Asia came from Yi Tianxing's JC Group.
Most importantly, as a trusted member of Police Force Number One Sir Kwan's Direct Line, Lau Bo-keung knew very well how much importance his boss attached to Yi Tianxing and the JC Group.
Yi Tianxing had first come to his boss's attention because of his older cousin Ching Wing-si, Kwan Chai-ba's wife.
The operation against Kwan Chai-ba had also been his boss's first collaboration with Mainland China.
It was no exaggeration to say that the results of that operation had drawn close attention from the senior leadership in Mainland China, thereby laying the foundations of their present National Security System.
His boss, the former Number One Sir Wong, and the current National Security DCP Lee Man-bun had all benefited greatly from that operation.
Even the last operation his boss had personally led before becoming Number One had some connection to Yi Tianxing's JC Group.
At the time, the Red Thief criminal organization had transported the hazardous DC-8, along with weapons and equipment, into Hong Kong Island through the Yi Family in Macau's underground arms