Notorious Hong Kong gangster Kwai Ping-hung released from prison ahead of deportation to US
- The release of Kwai, once among the city’s most wanted, has prompted law-enforcement officers to be on high alert
- The 59-year-old was taken straight to the airport, for deportation to the US
One of Hong Kong’s most notorious gangsters was released from prison on Saturday morning under heavy security after 16 years behind bars, and taken to the airport ahead of his deportation to the United States.
Kwai Ping-hung, the “King of Thieves”, had prompted law-enforcement officers to be on high alert, having been labelled “an extremely dangerous gangster” by police.
At about 5.45am, Stanley Prison – the maximum-security facility where the 59-year-old US passport holder has been jailed since 2005 – was guarded by about 30 officers, who had arrived in three batches of motorcycles and vans.
Two hours later, Kwai sat motionless wearing glasses, a mask, and an Adidas sports cap in the back seat of a 28-person white van provided by the Immigration Department, as he was taken to the airport with traffic police clearing the way at the front of the motorcade.
Kwai was accompanied in the van by eight plain-clothes officers.