Hong Kong police officer injured during raid on Hung Hom counterfeit cash operation
Male and female suspects arrested in subdivided flat as HK$4,100 in fake notes plus computers and printers seized
A Hong Kong policewoman was injured during a raid on a subdivided flat on Tuesday where officers arrested an Indian asylum seeker and his Russian girlfriend, and seized HK$4,100 (US$522) in counterfeit cash.
During the operation at a Chatham Road North flat in Hung Hom, the pair, 26 and 37 years old respectively, resisted arrest and attacked the officer.
After a struggle the pair were overpowered and arrested. The policewoman was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei with minor injuries.
During the raid, at about 5pm on Tuesday afternoon, commercial crime and anti-triad officers found three counterfeit HK$1,000 notes, two fake HK$500 notes, and one fake HK$100 note.
Police also recovered three printers, two computers and other equipment. The female suspect is a Hong Kong identity card holder.
A police spokesman said the enterprise appeared to be in its early stages. The notes were described as being poor imitations, easily distinguishable as fake. Police do not believe they had entered circulation.
Hong Kong police arrest seven and seize about HK$20 million worth of cash and drugs in organised crime crackdown
In the first three months of this year police seized 893 counterfeit Hong Kong banknotes, including 185 HK$1,000 notes, 100 HK$500 notes, and 542 HK$100 notes.
There were 1,888 fakes seized in the whole of 2017.
In Hong Kong, making counterfeit banknotes carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail.
