Police bust drug gang linked to triad society
Police officers have smashed a drug syndicate linked to a triad society in Yuen Long and arrested 19 people, including the gang's alleged ringleader.
During the two-day operation, police found a small amount of drugs including a pack of ketamine and 50 grams of heroin.
Also seized were $17,000 in cash, a small quantity of marked currency notes and a number of weapons, including an axe, seven knives and four spears made of water pipes.
The suspects - 17 men and two women - were arrested at 27 locations beginning on Friday.
The anti-triad operation, involving more than 140 detectives and uniformed officers, ended yesterday morning.
The police have charged six of the men and the two women for drug trafficking.
They will appear in Tuen Mun Court today. The other suspects were still being questioned.
Police would not rule out the possibility of further arrests as they were still looking for four or five people who are suspected of involvement with the syndicate.
Superintendent Sin Wai-kwan, of the New Territories North Regional headquarters, said they believed the ringleader was among the arrested.
'We believe that we have just smashed a drug syndicate based in Yuen Long and have hit hard that source of income of that syndicate,' he said.
He said the syndicate was thought to be controlled by a triad society and that it had been supplying drugs to addicts in the district for several months.
Mr Sin said the police had responded after being tipped off about the syndicate's illegal activities in the district.
After an initial investigation, two undercover detectives pretended to be potential drug buyers and contacted the syndicate to obtain more of its operation details, resulting in the arrests over the past two days.
