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SCMP Reporter

Police seized more than 30 choppers and knives, and items used for triad initiation ceremonies, in a raid on a weapons cache in a village house in Sha Tin yesterday.
Two men, a 29-year-old and a 40-year-old, have been arrested for possessing offensive weapons and material used by the Shui Fong  triad society for ceremonies. 
The arrests were made over two days of an anti-triad operation, the third in the 10 weeks since the leader of the Tsim Sha Tsui faction of Sun Yee On triad, Lee Tai-lung, 41, was chopped to death outside the Kowloon Shangri-La hotel on August 4. 
Forty-six people, including the leader of another triad faction, Wo Shing Wo,  were arrested in police raids last week. 
The gang was originally based in Sha Tin but extended its influence to Tsim Sha Tsui more than two years ago. 
Police said undercover operations  began a year ago when a police agent infiltrated Wo Shing Wo. 
Superintendent Adrian Kwan Kim-fai  said that besides the choppers,  police  seized an axe, eight walkie-talkies and dozens of hoods and gloves which could be used as disguises during gang fights.
Materials used in rituals, including an ornate yellow-and-red flag and a wooden box filled with ancient coins and jade, were also uncovered.
Police believe initiation ceremonies had been conducted at the village house. 
Kwan said the flag might also have been used in armed fights, as well as during initiation rites. 
The latest operation - targeting the Wo On Lok, or Shui Fong, triad faction - had been in the planning for more than two weeks. 
Police arrested the 40-year-old suspect in Tsim Sha Tsui on Friday afternoon, while he was driving with a suspended licence, and began monitoring the house in Sha Tin Fishermen's New Village.  
Police raided the house and arrested the 29-year-old suspect, who claimed to be a tenant of the house, as he arrived  there early yesterday.  
Kwan said the weapons had been organised in the village house in a way that allowed triad members to use them  quickly. Four or five choppers were packed together in nylon bags, with matching numbers of caps, hoods and gloves.  Some of the weapons showed signs of use. 
Some chopper handles had been modified so that they were easier to hold during gang fights. Choppers and beef knifes can be bought in Hong Kong legally, but any person who possesses an offensive weapon with the intent of using it for an unlawful purpose faces a fine of HK$5,000 or two years' jail.
Police believe this was the main weapons arsenal of the triad faction. Kwan said he believed the raid had severely hindered the operations of the triad. 
Investigations are continuing to see whether any of the seized weapons have been used in other criminal cases.



Triad's main weapons cache seized, police say