Hong Kong police arrest 347 people in citywide crackdown on triad-controlled drug, sex and gambling businesses
- Force raids 252 entertainment venues and illegal establishments ‘such as gambling venues, drug dens and unlicensed pubs’
- Three-day operation between Friday and Sunday was held in collaboration with immigration and fire services
Hong Kong police have rounded up 347 people in a multi-department citywide crackdown targeting illegal activities and triad-controlled drug, sex and gambling businesses over the past three days.
The force on Monday said 252 entertainment venues and illegal establishments were raided in the joint police, immigration and fire services operation between Friday and Sunday.
The entertainment venues included mahjong parlours, nightclubs, game centres, saunas and pubs, according to police.
A spokesman for the force said they also “uncovered and closed down illegal establishments such as gambling venues, drug dens and unlicensed pubs”.
He said 347 people were arrested during the three-day operation.
The suspects included 252 locals, 13 mainlanders and three people staying in the city illegally.
They were detained on suspicion of various offences, including trafficking in a dangerous drug, claiming to be a member of a triad society, criminal damage, operating a gambling establishment, managing a drug den, laundering crime proceeds, and wounding, according to police.
“Combating triad activities is one of the top priorities of the commissioner of police,” the spokesman said.
“Police will continue to enhance intelligence gathering and take timely and targeted law enforcement actions to combat violent crimes, activities related to organised crime, and their sources of income.”
In October, two high-profile incidents involving gangsters in the New Territories prompted police to conduct two separate anti-triad operations across the city.
On October 25, several suspected Sun Yee On triad members assaulted three security guards as they were unhappy about their vehicles being impounded for illegal parking outside a Tuen Mun public housing estate.
The force then carried out a four-day anti-triad operation in the New Territories. Officers also raided triad-run entertainment venues and closed down gambling dens and brothels.
During the operation between October 26 and 29, police arrested 46 people. Among them was the alleged leader of the Sun Yee On faction in Tuen Mun, known as “Bei Wing” in the underworld.
In a separate case on October 31, four suspected faction leaders of the Wo Shing Wo triad were accused of verbally abusing three policemen during an operation against illegal parking in Yuen Long. On November 2 and 3, police arrested two of the suspects in connection with the case.
One of them is the alleged leader of the faction in Yuen Long, known as “Ku Yeh Wah”. He was also among those arrested when a white-clad mob bearing sticks and metal rods attacked protesters and commuters at a station on the night between July 21 and 22, 2019, during the anti-government protests. He was not charged.
The parking incident in Yuen Long also triggered a citywide anti-triad operation. Joe Chow Yat-ming, a deputy police commissioner, oversaw part of the operation in the New Territories on November 2.
In the first 10 months in 2023, police handled 1,620 reports of triad-related crimes, an increase of 2.2 per cent from 1,585 cases logged in the same period of 2022.
Police chief Raymond Siu Chak-yee will review the state of law and order in Hong Kong and the work of the force at a press conference on Tuesday.
