The criminal group known as the Gray Syndicate operated on the planet of Lothal. Their base of operations was located on the outskirts of Capital City. Specifically, they occupied an old, run-down tavern – formerly known as Ake's Tavern – situated down a grimy alleyway. The group transformed this tavern into their headquarters by installing numerous network terminals, which they used to conduct their illegal activities. Yahenna Laxo, the boss of the Gray Syndicate, oversaw operations from the tavern's upper level. There, she sat at a stolen Imperial officer's desk, positioned behind a modern black network terminal.
Located in Ake's Tavern on Lothal, the Gray Syndicate, led by Yahenna Laxo, engaged in a variety of illegal activities typical of such organizations operating under the oppressive rule of the Empire. They participated in the black market, and other illegal activities. Laxo was willing to provide refuge to wanted individuals like Holshef and Pinson, shielding them from the Empire's reach. However, she was also prepared to betray them if they lacked the credits to pay her fees. Their operations also included the accumulation and smuggling of prohibited goods, the trading of confidential information, and the exploitation of various gambling ventures for profit.
Merei Spanjaf's efforts to assist her boyfriend, Zare Leonis, led her into the Gray Syndicate's criminal world. She needed a snooper program to investigate the disappearance of Leonis's sister, Dhara Leonis. A classmate from the Vocational School for Institutional Security, Jix Hekyl, recommended the Syndicate to her. While Hekyl's advice proved useful, it came with consequences. Spanjaf was eventually coerced into performing tasks for the group to maintain Laxo's favor. She found the name "Gray Syndicate" to be overly elaborate and pretentious, considering the group was essentially a collection of "teenager slicers and narcoleptic guns-for-hire," though she wisely kept her opinion to herself. Despite her involvement being involuntary, she received substantial payment, including a credit chip valued at a thousand credits. However, Spanjaf's involvement with the group, and seemingly the group's existence, ended dramatically. Cornered by the escalating Imperial investigation against her, Spanjaf used a locator provided by her parents to alert the Empire to the Syndicate's operations. During the raid on their headquarters, many members, including Laxo, were killed by the Empire. Spanjaf was rescued by a stormtrooper commander who was misled into believing she was an innocent hostage, kidnapped to force Spanjaf's mother, Jessa, to halt her investigation, which would have exposed her daughter's criminal activities.