Three from present-day Chinese gang (5)
I believe the answer is:
triad
'chinese gang' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'three from present-day' is the wordplay.
'three' becomes 'tri' (prefix meaning 'three').
'from' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'present day' becomes 'AD' (as opposed to BC).
'tri'+'ad'='TRIAD'
(Other definitions for triad that I've seen before include "Three-note chord -- Chinese criminal gang" , "Could be major" , "Chinese criminal society" , "Criminals" , "Up to date" .)