Snakehead (Alex Rider)

"Maybe you should have thought of the consequences before you took on the Snakehead"

- Snakehead officer Dr Tanner

The Snakehead is an evil crime organization, part of SCORPIA, and a subdivision of the criminal underworld. It is described as "like al-Qaeda, except they're not interested in religion."

Biography
The Snakehead are from the far East. They are a Chinese street-gang, feared, ruthless and dangerous. They are in all forms of crime: people smuggling, terrorism, espionage, revenge, extortion, theft, blackmail. Nothing is above the Snakehead, and they have no regrets. They will sell anything, weapons and drugs. It is described as like an international supermarket, but everything it sells is bad.

The Snakehead are causing a massive problem for Australia's intelligence services, because thousands of millions of illegal immigrants are being smuggled in, because the Snakehead are taking advantage of their refusal to allow any more people in because of over population, so the Snakehead are shipping in more immigrants. The Australian government want to stop this happening so they have to take on the Snakehead and end all crime.

They manage to find a company, Unwin Toys, and trace its suppliers back to the Snakehead. The Australian government hire Ash and his godson Alex to destroy the Snakehead and find their director, Winston Yu. As it happens, Yu is active because SCORPIA have given him orders destroy a peace conference by causing a tsunami making the destruction look natural.

The Snakehead know Alex is in Asia, and they track him down as soon as he gets to Bangkok. Also the Snakehead visit Alex and Ash and ask about Alex and beat him when he doesn't reply. Alex is later kidnapped by the Snakehead and taken to their boxing ring where he is made to fight a champion, Sunthorn, a Snakehead master, and the Snakehead are angered when Alex knocks out Sunthorn and wins the match. The  Snakehead try to shoot Alex but the ring is blown up and this distracts them.

The Snakehead later launch their ship with Yu onboard, and Alex sneaks in. He finds himself in a human shipping container, with hundreds of other prisoners. Alex then breaks out and investigates the Snakehead. Alex eavesdrops on Yu's plans and he blows up the cabin of the ship and damages its cargo before he leaves.

Alex is later kidnapped by Winston Yu himself who talks to him over dinner, and Alex reveals he saw Royal Blue, the bomb that Yu will make the tsunami. So Winston Yu tells him he will imprison Alex in the Snakehead headquarters in the Australian jungle, and they will take a limb or an eye from him bit by bit to give to millionaires.

Before this happens, Alex escapes and sets fire to the hospital. He is reunited with the Australian intelligence services and he hears that the conference is still happening, so he flies into Yu's oil rig and learns there that Ash is the traitor and responsible for all the bad things that had happened to Alex. Ash is shot dead but Alex disarms the bomb, making it blow, not towards the coast, but away, out to sea. The shockwave hits Yu and kills the Snakehead leader.

MI6 arrest loads of Snakehead officials, and the organization is dissolved. Many remain in prison for crimes against humanity.