Over 90 arrested in parallel trading blitz near border
Five are Hongkongers suspected of recruiting mainlanders; HK$700,000 of goods seized
More than 90 people were arrested on suspicion of parallel trading in a crackdown near the border with Shenzhen yesterday.
Of the arrests, 54 men and 40 women, aged between 18 and 64, were mainlanders and five men were from Hong kong.
They were arrested near Sheung Shui and Fanling MTR stations, where traders were allegedly distributing goods, said senior superintendent Terry Wong Kin-wah of New Territories North regional police headquarters.
Eighty-eight people were arrested on suspicion of breaching their conditions of stay, while six were held for theft as they could not explain where all the goods they were carrying had come from. Wong said the five Hongkongers were suspected to have recruited the mainlanders.
All 99 people arrested were detained last night.
The authorities also seized HK$700,000 worth of goods including mobile phones, tablet computers and everyday items, as well as two trucks.
Some 200 officers from the police, Immigration Department, Customs and Excise Department, and Food and Environmental Hygiene Department were involved in the operation.