Police have vowed to continue a crackdown on begging, arresting a further five people amid reports organised crime syndicates from the mainland are plying their trade on the streets of Hong Kong.
Gangs of up to 30 two-way-permit holders, most of them handicapped, are each reported to be earning up to $500 daily by panhandling.
Most of the gang members are forced to give a 20 per cent cut to a syndicate chief or 'beggar master', who organises transport, accommodation and 90-day visitor permits.
It is claimed one beggar master - who recruits mainlanders with severe deformities from his home province of Anhui - earns as much as $2,500 a night for his efforts.
Senior police warn the situation is expected to worsen. They have seen a significant increase in the numbers of mainlanders found begging in Hong Kong.
Chief Inspector Chu Hon-keung said that in the first two months of this year 90 mainland beggars had been arrested. In the whole of last year, 100 were arrested.