Illegal workers being smuggled into Hong Kong hidden under trucks
Gang's methods echo those Vietnamese war refugees used to enter city
A raid sounded echoes of a turbulent chapter in Hong Kong's history as 23 people were arrested yesterday - some of whom are believed to be core members of a syndicate that was smuggling illegal Vietnamese workers across the border hidden beneath trucks.
The operation, codenamed Firenet, was conducted jointly between the Immigration Department and their counterparts in Guangdong and Shenzhen, between January 9 and 13. Of the 23 arrested, 10 were Hong Kong residents, 12 were Vietnamese and one was from the mainland.
Among the Hongkongers, the Immigration Department said they believed three were core members of the syndicate while six were found to be employing illegal workers.
"We believe the syndicate had been active for about three months," said principal immigration officer Choi Yue-ning at the Lok Ma Chau checkpoint yesterday. "After this large-scale raid, [we] have smashed [it]."
Choi explained that the Vietnamese workers would cross the border into China legally, into southwest Guangxi province. After a brief stay in Shenzhen, they would try to slip into the city hidden in the hollow space between the undercarriage and the wheels of Hong Kong-bound trucks, usually during the early hours of the morning.
The raid brings back memories of Hong Kong's 25-year battle with illegal immigration from Vietnam when refugees fleeing the war and its aftermath flocked to the city.