Police seize cash, cars and apartments worth $45m
Police have smashed a triad-linked prostitution racket which allegedly controlled hundreds of local and mainland women and underage girls in Yau Ma Tei and Mongkok.
Officers arrested 432 people - a record number for a police operation in Hong Kong.
The syndicate, reportedly run by 14K triad members, pocketed more than $10 million a month at 14 establishments, including nightclubs, karaoke bars and short-stay hotels. Investigators seized $45 million worth of assets linked to the vice activities, including $5 million in cash, 11 flats, luxury cars and private parking spaces.
The crackdown came after eight undercover police agents infiltrated the syndicate last August, collecting evidence and identifying core members.
During the operation, codenamed Flame Wood and starting at 11pm on Wednesday, more than 750 officers raided 32 locations, including the syndicate's 14 vice dens in Yau Ma Tei and Mongkok.
The alleged mastermind was arrested when officers raided the syndicate command centre in a commercial unit in Mongkok.