Gangs use forceps to dip in

A NEW tactic for illegal immigrants, working in gangs of three or four, involves mingling with the crowds admiring the view or shopping at the Peak Tower or Galleria.

The illegal immigrants wear bandages and are equipped with forceps to pluck wallets from handbags and pockets, police say.

If stopped, they claim they need the forceps to rearrange their bandages.

Senior Superintendent Austin Kerrigan said illegal immigrants organised into groups were believed to be targeting the Peak, Shouson Hill and Happy Valley.

Crude maps were being offered across the border, advising illegal immigrants to cross the harbour, look for the distinctive Bank of China building and head up the wooded paths towards the Peak, police said.