Forgery gang offering illegal work smashed

A local forgery syndicate that enticed mainland visitors to work illegally here with fake documents and controlled their lives has been smashed by the Immigration Department.

Enforcement officers arrested 30 suspects aged 16 to 62. Among those held were three Hong Kong syndicate leaders, 16 illegal workers from the mainland and 11 employers. Officials also seized 35 forged identity cards and two fake home return permits in the two-day operation, code-named "Ringcracker", which ended yesterday. The syndicate had been active in the city for at least six months.

The gang would approach mainlanders who had entered the city with legitimate travel documents and, for HK$2,000, sell them fake identity cards with names and other particulars of Hong Kong citizens, usually members of the syndicate, according to Sham Kin-fai, assistant director of the department's Enforcement and Torture Claim Assessment branch.

The syndicate would then provide them meals and accommodation, and help them look for jobs in restaurants.

It would take around 40 per cent of the mainlanders' salaries of about HK$10,000 per month each.

The syndicate also controlled the illegal workers' bank accounts and bank cards, leaving them completely reliant on the gang.

"In the past, illegal workers always used their own information for fake identity cards and other certificates," said Sham. "But in this case, the syndicate provided them with information on real Hongkongers."