34 students rounded up in raids on triad gang
Thirty-four students, some as young as 13, were among 78 suspects rounded up in series of raids on a faction of the Wo Hop To triad society.
The arrests - the second such crackdown in two weeks - were made in a two-day operation after a seven-month sting to collect information on the triad gang.
Officers said the gang had been trying to strengthen its influence on Hong Kong Island and targeted students and teenagers for recruitment last year.
'At the beginning of the new academic year in September, undercover policemen were deployed to infiltrate the triad society to collect evidence and identify its core figures,' a police source said.
The anti-triad crackdown, code-named 'Watchtimer', kicked off on Monday when officers from the Hong Kong Island crime unit carried out raids across the city.
By the time the operation ended on Tuesday night, 74 males and four females, aged between 13 and 50, had been rounded up. Thirty-four were students aged 13 to 18.
Police said most of them were suspected triad members and a small quantity of a dangerous drug was also seized.
Yesterday a police spokeswoman said some suspects were intercepted at the Lowu border checkpoint but did not say whether they had been caught while trying to flee Hong Kong.
The suspects were believed to have been involved in drug trafficking, assault, unlawful assembly, unlawful detention, recruitment of people into a triad society and other triad-related offences.
They have been released on police bail pending further investigations. No charges have been laid.
About two weeks ago, 15 suspected triad members, including seven schoolboys, were arrested when officers from Kwai Chung police station raided 20 locations in Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi. Officers also seized six beef knives and 10 water pipes.
The arrests were made on March 23, a month after some of the 15 brazenly chased three schoolboys into their school, then menaced the teaching staff when they failed to catch the boys.
