HK$12.6 million seized as Hong Kong police arrest alleged triad kingpin and more than 80 others in crackdown on illegal gambling and loan sharks
- Total of 41 men and 42 women aged between 26 and 72 arrested in connection with money laundering and operation of illegal gambling dens in string of raids
- Alleged Wo Shing Wo triad chief said to be 57-year-old unemployed man; wife and son also taken into custody
A total of 41 men and 42 women, aged between 26 and 72, were arrested for money laundering and the operation of illegal gambling dens in a string of law enforcement raids from last Thursday to Saturday.
Chief Inspector Terence Wong Chi-tang of the police Organised Crime and Triad Bureau revealed that the force had been investigating what was said to be a high-ranking triad figure and his family’s funds since last year and had uncovered huge discrepancies between income, expenditure and transaction records.
“Police investigations have shown that over the past nine years, this family’s total income only stood at around HK$1.6 million, but there were large amounts of withdrawal and deposit records from unknown sources in their bank accounts,” Wong explained.
“For instance, we have noticed them using more than HK$10 million as down payments to purchase two local properties.”
A source familiar with the case told the Post that the alleged gang leader was a 57-year-old unemployed man said to be affiliated with the Wo Shing Wo triad.
His 54-year-old wife, son, 26, as well as the man’s alleged mentor in the gang, were arrested on Friday.
Officers seized HK$7 million in cash, a car and a set of title deeds at the man’s home in Tsing Yi.
The source said the 26-year-old son might not be a triad member, but his parents had bought properties with allegedly illegal cash in his name.
The son did not contribute funds towards monthly payments on the flats.
Two licensed moneylenders were also raided in a separate operation after police discovered an alleged loan shark syndicate said to involve members of the same triad group.
The force arrested 14 people, including what were alleged to be six core figures of the syndicate, such as board members and shareholders, four staff and four debt collectors.
A total of HK$5.7 million was seized, along with a variety of mobile phones and laptops.
Simon Wong Chi-yu, a chief inspector with the bureau, said forensic accountancy had found evidence the loan sharks charged annual interest rates as high as 400 per cent. The highest legal annual interest rate is 48 per cent.
“After borrowers had successfully registered for a loan, the staff would direct them to wait for a phone call with instructions to pay a fee of 20 to 25 per cent of their loan to the syndicate,” Wong explained. “The caller would direct the client to hand over the fees to debt collectors.”
Wong added that borrowers would still have to repay the loans plus interest afterwards.
Other illicit businesses alleged to be linked to the Wo Shing Wo triad included four gambling dens in Yuen Long, Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po, as well as an illegal petrol station in Cheung Sha Wan.
The force arrested 65 people linked to the gambling dens and 5,800 litres (1,532 gallons) of diesel valued at HK$110,000 was confiscated at the petrol station.
