Suspected leader of cross-border smuggling ring arrested in swoop by Hong Kong and Guangdong police: dramatic scenes as smugglers ram police van

Hong Kong and Guangdong police on Monday arrested the suspected ringleader and core members of a cross-border people smuggling racket accused of bringing more than 300 non-Chinese illegal immigrants to the city in a year.

By lunchtime, police had picked up nearly 40 people on both sides of the border in a major operation that continued in the afternoon after it was launched on Sunday night.

Officers in Yuen Long arrested 13 people in two cars at daybreak on Monday. One car collided head-on with a police van near a school, and officers smashed their way into the vehicle to arrest the occupants.

The alleged ringleader – a Hongkonger in his 50s – was among more than 10 people nabbed by mainland Chinese police, along with at least four snakeheads from across the border, sources said.

His wife and son, in his 30s, were among another 21 arrested by Hong Kong police in a series of raids, including the 13 in Yuen Long, across the city in the early hours of Monday. The 14 men and seven women included 11 non-Chinese illegal immigrants and four asylum seekers.

Sources said the syndicate had smuggled people across the border for about 18 months.