Triads in Hong Kong.
An annual cross-border police
crackdown on organised crime activities, postponed last year due to the Occupy
protests, has hit back harder this year - with 51,000 suspects arrested in Hong
Kong, Macau and Guangdong. In Hong Kong, police raided more than 7,500
premises, including vice dens, gambling venues and residential flats. A total
of 4,343 people, including 1,177 mainlanders, were arrested for various
offences such as drug trafficking, gambling and illegal lending.
Officers confiscated about
HK$102 million in cash, illegal drugs and contraband and froze more than HK$2.1
million in crime proceeds during the three-month operation that ended last
week.
"Police also mounted five
undercover operations and smashed four triad factions in Kowloon West, Kowloon
East, the New Territories North and the New Territories South regions, with the
arrest of 381 people," said Chief Superintendent Au Chin-chau of the
Organised Crime and Triad Bureau.
He said the arrests included
high-ranking triad members.
The joint operation, codenamed
Thunderbolt15 and held between June 15 and September 18, was an annual exercise
to combat triad activities and hit the income sources of organised crime,
according to police.
The annual operation is a major
priority for the force. Earlier this year, senior officials Lau Yip-shing
(left) and Lo Mung-hung described police efforts against crime. Photo: Dickson
Lee
It began in 2000, is usually
held before National Day and lasts a month. Previous operations have seen an average
of 10,000 arrests across the three locations.
It is understood this year's
clean-up operation lasted for three months because last year's sweep was
suspended due to the Occupy protests.
Au said a three-month
operation was an "optimal" duration after considering the manpower
and resources each police department had, as well as the local crime situation.
Describing the operation as
"successful", Au said it had demonstrated the effectiveness of
intelligence-led and undercover operations.
"The message we want to
send out is that the police have zero tolerance to any kind of illegal
activities, including triad activities," Au said.
During this year's operation,
Hong Kong police mounted an anti-loan sharking operation and raided 25 legally
registered companies that lured people to borrow money and then charged
exorbitant interest and service fees up to double the loan.
On the mainland, police nabbed
42,990 suspects in Guangdong, 31,651 of whom were reportedly drug addicts,
while the other 11,339 were arrested for various offences.
A total of 3,977 people were
picked up in Macau, with a large amount of illegal drugs and weapons also
seized both there and in Guangdong.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post
print edition
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