Hong Kong police arrest leaders in city-wide raids
Hong Kong police arrest leaders in city-wide raids:
HONG KONG: Hong Kong police say they have dealt a major blow to a notorious triad group, after a territory-wide series of raids rounded up dozens of people including a suspected gang leader and core members.
Thirty-six suspects, including a 56-year-old alleged ringleader and other senior members of an unidentified crime syndicate, were arrested in a city-wide operation on Monday night, Hong Kong police said.
Dozens of police and immigration officers raided multiple locations in the heart of the southern Chinese city, including four nightclubs.
Sixteen men and 20 women, aged between 22 and 63, were arrested for various offences, including managing brothels, drug trafficking and immigration-related crimes, police said.
'(We) believe this operation has netted several core members of the triad society and successfully dealt a blow to the triad society active in the Kowloon West region,' the police said in a statement, referring to a neighbourhood in the teeming metropolis.
This is the latest in a spate of recent crackdowns on organised crime in the former British colony.
Last month, police arrested 56 people in an operation against a major triad syndicate in the city, known as the Wo Shing Wo triad.
In the past year, police have arrested about 2,000 people in Hong Kong, Macau and the Chinese mainland as part of regular crackdowns on organised crime. At least two crime bosses have been executed in mainland China in the past year.
Police declined to identify the group at the centre of their latest raid, but press reports said authorities targeted the powerful Sun Yee On triad.
Among those arrested were 19 mainland Chinese women, suspected of illegally working in gang-controlled nightclubs, a police spokeswoman told AFP Wednesday.
All suspects were detained for questioning and no one had been charged as of Wednesday morning, she added.
The alleged gang mastermind belongs to the Sun Yee On group and was arrested after officers raided his apartment, the South China Morning Post reported Wednesday, quoting an unnamed police officer.
Sun Yee On is among several crime syndicates operating in the city which are believed to be involved in extortion, prostitution, drugs and copyright piracy.
The operation is still ongoing, the police statement said.
Hong Kong police have recorded a drop in the number of reports of triad-related crime in the first 10 months of the year, totalling 1,645 cases, or 13.7 percent less than the same period in 2009.
Thirty-six suspects, including a 56-year-old alleged ringleader and other senior members of an unidentified crime syndicate, were arrested in a city-wide operation on Monday night, Hong Kong police said.
Dozens of police and immigration officers raided multiple locations in the heart of the southern Chinese city, including four nightclubs.
Sixteen men and 20 women, aged between 22 and 63, were arrested for various offences, including managing brothels, drug trafficking and immigration-related crimes, police said.
'(We) believe this operation has netted several core members of the triad society and successfully dealt a blow to the triad society active in the Kowloon West region,' the police said in a statement, referring to a neighbourhood in the teeming metropolis.
This is the latest in a spate of recent crackdowns on organised crime in the former British colony.
Last month, police arrested 56 people in an operation against a major triad syndicate in the city, known as the Wo Shing Wo triad.
In the past year, police have arrested about 2,000 people in Hong Kong, Macau and the Chinese mainland as part of regular crackdowns on organised crime. At least two crime bosses have been executed in mainland China in the past year.
Police declined to identify the group at the centre of their latest raid, but press reports said authorities targeted the powerful Sun Yee On triad.
Among those arrested were 19 mainland Chinese women, suspected of illegally working in gang-controlled nightclubs, a police spokeswoman told AFP Wednesday.
All suspects were detained for questioning and no one had been charged as of Wednesday morning, she added.
The alleged gang mastermind belongs to the Sun Yee On group and was arrested after officers raided his apartment, the South China Morning Post reported Wednesday, quoting an unnamed police officer.
Sun Yee On is among several crime syndicates operating in the city which are believed to be involved in extortion, prostitution, drugs and copyright piracy.
The operation is still ongoing, the police statement said.
Hong Kong police have recorded a drop in the number of reports of triad-related crime in the first 10 months of the year, totalling 1,645 cases, or 13.7 percent less than the same period in 2009.
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