Los Santos Drift
Los Santos Drift was a prominent crew in the city that focused primarily on car culture, high-speed racing, and alternative community-driven criminal activities. At a time when most factions in the city prioritized violence, turf wars, and armed conflict, Drift stood out by offering an experience centered around vehicles and street racing. It was formed by four founding members - Moda Montasser, Jamal Baraka, Cheng Izumi, and James Famingo, who shared a vision of shifting the crime culture toward more creative and engaging forms of interaction. Drift believed in diplomatic relations and straying away from fighting, which made them stand out as the only crew that favoured everyone - slowly bringing them up to be one of the most recognised gangs to date.
Crew Lore
Drift was born during an era when Los Santos was plagued with infighting and criminal gangs obsessed with shootouts and robbery. But the founders saw the city differently. Where others saw grounds to conquer, they saw racetracks. The streets & freeways were not just routes for escape, they were competition. LSDrift set out to show the city that it was possible to build unity without alliances, create tension without bloodshed, and spark adrenaline without ever pulling a trigger. Their message was simple: park the violence, and let the engines speak.
Tokyo - Where it Began
Drift traces its roots back to a Japanese syndicate known only as “Drift.” Revered among street racers for its discipline, technique, and honor, Drift left a lasting legacy in the world of underground motorsport. One of its senior members later relocated to Los Santos, seeking to carry on the tradition in a city that lacked automotive identity. Thus, Los Santos Drift was born, not just a gang, but a continuation of a legacy built around passion, diplomacy and honor.
The story of Los Santos Drift began long before the streets of Los Santos echoed with the color of orange. It began with loss. Moda Montasser, one of the original founders, received devastating news one night, his close friend and fellow racer, Han Lu-San, had been executed after a race dispute with a member of the Yakuza family in Japan. Moda, with by grief and disbelief, immediately left Los Santos for Tokyo to mourn with those who had known Han best. Moda, with a heavy heart, and the loss of his friend, also found a void in himself, he was no longer surrounded by a crew who he felt a sense of family with. He was all alone.
Han's cousin, Kung-San, explained what had transpired: Han had accepted a pink-slip race challenge against the son of a powerful Oyabun. Han, behind the wheel of his ‘98 Supra, dominated the race, leaving the Yakuza heir humiliated. Retaliation came swiftly. A bounty was placed on Han’s head, and within the hour, he was killed. Moda struggled to believe it, he knew something darker had been at play. He spent weeks seeking answers, staying up night after night, chasing leads in silence. But when no truth emerged, Moda made peace with the idea that vengeance would not bring back what was lost.
Instead, he turned toward legacy. Moda remembered the fire Han had for racing, for drifting, for adrenaline, for community. He made it his mission to honor that spirit. He envisioned a crew built not only on skill but on the values Han lived by: 信頼できる (trustworthy), 忠実な (loyalty), and 従順 (discipline). Moda began attending drift meets, watching carefully, making notes, and slowly building a list of individuals who shared the same fire. He reached out to each one personally, extending not an offer, but an invitation, to be part of something bigger.
And so, Los Santos Drift was born.
Growth and Change
It wasn't long before the Drift name made sense to the public, people had already known the members of the crew from long before, and so they welcomed the crew with open arms. As a welcome, Drift organised public races at the tracks that had been known to the city since it's beginning - Garbage, Observatory, Canyon, etcetera - these tracks were no longer the city's, they were Drift's.
Embracing Change - Leadership
Moda had given up his helm, he went against his own principle - violence. He left the crew to join 67 Spartans. Most felt that this may be the end of the crew, but Cheng Izumi made sure that their effort wont run dry. Cheng took over Drift along with James Famingo as his second in command. The both of them rebuilt Drift from the ground up, involving their own vision that kept the dream of making this crew stand firm with it's values, but also to build it to the point where it becomes a force to be reckoned with. Surviving was no longer the goal, becoming the best racing crew this city has ever seen was.
Relationships had to be rebuilt, trust had to be regained - the name Drift was no longer attached to Moda, but to a stranger who held a familiar name. Cheng had built a reputation for himself alongside Drift's, everybody from notable crews - Six Seven, Daichead Gadai, Rooks, Royals and LFB had known of the recent change in leadership. But they didn't flinch, they endured the leadership and saw it as a way of rebuilding a stronger foundation. This marked a new era for Drift, they realised that Racing can't be the only way for them to become the best, they had to do what everyone did - everything. Except they had to do it all together.
Not Just a Racing Crew
This made Cheng and Famingo decide to make Drift to expand into other ventures. The crew eventually grew into one of the city's leading drug producers, generating between 700 to 1500 units of LSD or Marijuana on any given day. All of it was used internally. Drift having connections to the cartel, also supplied chemicals to other gangs, in exchange for them to bring back drugs - which Drift sold back to the cartel, strengthening their overall connections. Drift also operated a thriving vehicle theft and chop business, boosting and stripping cars for profit. They began operations in each sector of crime, while keeping the color Orange the most prominent on the street. To the layman, Drift was just another racing crew, but to everybody else - Drift was the city's cartel.
Was It Always Like This?
Before reaching this level, the group had humble beginnings, relying on pier fishing and convenience store hits to make ends meet. Over time, they built a full-fledged economy on the foundation of their shared automotive obsession. Drift was no longer just a racing crew, it was a racing crew with a whole lot more to offer. It became one of the centers of criminal business in the city - Drug Production, Money Laundering, Vehicle Chopping - they facilitated everything,