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A SEVEN-MONTH police undercover operation into the extortion of construction sites by triads ended in the early hours of yesterday morning with the arrest of 23 alleged 14K members.

  More than 50 police officers staged a dramatic raid on the Tin Tin Seafood Restaurant in Yuen Long, where there was believed to be a high-level meeting of the Tak Chi faction of the 14K triad.

  Officers of the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) and Yuen Long district burst into the restaurant and made 26 arrests amid scenes of fighting and panic.

  One of those arrested in the raid was reputed to be the number three in the Tak Chi and tipped to be its future dragonhead.

  Twenty-three of the 26 arrested learned last night that the other three were undercover police officers planted as watchmen on construction sites up to seven months ago.

  The meeting in Yuen Long was believed to be a show of strength designed to extract more money from sites in Kowloon and the New Territories.

  Members were also alleged to have been discussing how to slice up the future extortion of California Gardens in Yuen Long.

   The South China Morning Post can also reveal that a separate raid on a basement restaurant in Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, on Tuesday night was part of the undercover operation.

  Initial reports said 10 people were arrested for alleged triad offences in connection with the Sun Yee On triad.

  In fact only seven were charged because three were undercover officers, arrested to protect the operation until its conclusion yesterday morning.

  The charges related to another triad society, the Wo Shing Wo.

   Police had claimed the raid was part of its operation against the Sun Yee On to avoid tipping off other triad societies.

  The Sun Yee On was the target of what was the first series of raids in Tuen Mun more than a month ago.

  More than 150 police arrested 24 alleged Sun Yee On members on extortion charges.

  OCTB Detective Chief Inspector David Fernyhough said officers had posed as watchmen and security guards at up to 10 sites in Kowloon and the New Territories.

   ''We had been making regular monthly payments with the co-operation of the construction companies of up to $3,000 to $7,000 a month,'' he said.

  ''Our guys had been undercover for seven months exposed to all sorts of risks. They couldn't even tell their families what they were doing or why they were often working odd hours.''   Mr Fernyhough said the approach for protection money would usually be made to either the watchman or security guards. Money would be handed over on a monthly basis, usually away from the site itself.

  The location of the drop would often be changed at the last minute in an attempt to throw off any police surveillance.

  Mr Fernyhough said triads would not know in future whether the people they were dealing with were undercover police officers or not.

  The operation also acted as a valuable intelligence gathering exercise and would help the police know which sites were prime targets, he said.

  The Hong Kong Construction Association praised the operation.

  ''It is human nature for people to be worried about testifying against triads in extortion cases because they are afraid of what might happen to them,'' said Secretary-General Patrick Chan Wing-tung.

      ''But with the police as witnesses there isn't that problem. We are very supportive of the operation and pleased the police are taking action against extortion.''   He said he believed every single construction site in Hong Kong would at some stage be the target of extortion attempts.

  ''Many people see triad extortion as a way of life and pay up whereas others refuse to pay, and put up with problems,'' Mr Chan said.



Arrests end key police anti-triad operation