Hong Kong’s police have arrested 4,140 persons and seized cash, dangerous drugs, and illicit goods worth about HK$548 million in two separate weeks-long drives against illegal activities of triad societies and organized crime syndicates.
Codenamed 'THUNDERBOLT 2025', the anti-crime operation was mounted jointly with police authorities of Guangdong and Macao in two phases – one running from Aug 4 to Sept 6 and the other from Oct 11 to 25, the government said in a statement on Friday.
Conducting searches at about 1,700 locations, the law enforcers neutralized over 800 illegal premises, including gambling dens, vice establishments, divans, and unlicensed bars.
Of the 4,140 arrestees, 2,454 are men and the rest 1,686 are women, aged between 13 and 89, according to a government statement. Amongst them, 780 were mainlanders and 557 were non-ethnic Chinese, the statement added.
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They were arrested for crimes such as murder, wounding, claiming to be a member of a triad society, criminal damage, blackmail, possession of offensive weapons, trafficking in dangerous drugs, operating illegal gambling establishments, keeping a divan, operating vice establishments, control over persons for prostitution, and dealing with property linked to money laundering.
During the drives, police also seized numerous illegal items, including offensive weapons, cash totaling HK$13.6 million suspected to be proceeds of crime, and dangerous drugs worth over HK$500 million, including etomidate, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, ketamine, and cannabis.
“This intelligence-led joint enforcement operation aimed at combating illegal activities of triad societies and organized crime syndicates, neutralizing cross-boundary crimes, and interdicting the criminals’ source of income,” the government statement reads.
The Hong Kong Police Force said it would continue to maintain close liaison and exchange intelligence with the police authorities of the mainland and Macao to combat illegal activities of triad societies and organized crime syndicates, neutralize cross-boundary crimes, and interdict the criminals’ source of income.
