The illicit activities of triad gangs have long been an unsavoury undercurrent of Hong Kong life, in which the big fish shelter from the law behind a code of silence and loyalty that binds their followers. They usually only come to the surface with the outbreak of turf wars and internal power struggles, or through open challenges to authority.
Last week, however, police succeeded in playing triads at their own game by infiltrating an agent into the ranks of a gang or faction of one of the triad societies for long enough to gather useful evidence. An undercover operation over two years has resulted in the arrests of 36 members of the Tsim Sha Tsui faction of the Sun Yee On society. According to police, this has smashed a gang that controlled nightclubs and pubs while supplying customers with mainland prostitutes and illegal drugs.
It is good to see that police are proactive and professional on the ground in the fight against criminal societies. Undercover operations call for patience and tight security, lest premature exposure of the agent results in violent retribution. They can yield priceless intelligence, as evidenced by the police claim to have arrested the suspected ringleader of the syndicate and his core members.
In 2005, a senior officer claimed the triads had declared war on the police, after a group of suspects confronted police during a routine inspection of a West Kowloon disco, forcing a call for reinforcements. It took 30 minutes before police were able to conduct their search. That incident sparked a series of intensive raids on triad-run premises in West Kowloon. The same year, 12 officers suffered minor wounds to their arms and legs when triads resisted their inquiries during a liquor-licence check on a Mongkok pub. Again the incident was followed by raids and arrests.
These raids on their own, however, are unlikely to make much difference to triad activities, although they may disrupt their income for a time. As the latest undercover operation has shown, it takes a courageous and dedicated officer to covertly gather the type of evidence that can net the big fish.