3 Hongkongers, 2 mainland Chinese arrested over ride-hailing fraud syndicate ties
Police target second syndicate in a week, as investigation shows platform loopholes exploited and fake ID documents used to register drivers
Hong Kong police have arrested two visitors from mainland China and three residents on suspicion of being part of a syndicate that recruits drivers to provide illegal ride-hailing services in the city by using tourist visas and fake identity cards.
The force said on Saturday that it arrested three residents in the past two days in Tuen Mun and Lok Ma Chau for allegedly conspiring to defraud, laundering money and aiding and abetting others to breach their conditions of stay.
Police said the case was the second to involve a ride-hailing syndicate in a crackdown in the past week.
The trio comprised two men and a woman aged between 41 and 65.
Two men from the mainland working as drivers were also arrested in Tai Po and West Kowloon and charged with illegally carrying passengers for reward, driving without third-party insurance and violating their conditions of stay.
Superintendent Basil Tang Yick-kay from the crime division of the northern New Territories said officers had been investigating syndicates that recruited mainland drivers to work in Hong Kong since the middle of the year.