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Undercover operation combating triad related activities is getting tougher because triad members have become more cautious, police said on Monday, following another large-scale anti-triad operation code named Nightstinger.
Police arrested 222 triad members, including nine big guns, and three juveniles in the sweep. The youngest of those arrested is only 15.
The suspects come mainly from the territory's most active triad tongs, including Sun Yee On, 14K and Wong Shing Wo.
The latest undercover operation, plotted and played out by the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB), is said to have lasted two years, the longest undercover operation ever, said Cheuk Hau-yip, acting chief superintendent of the OCTB.
Contacts within the triad society informed police about new recruitment two years ago. That was when the OCTB grabbed the chance to sneak in some of the moles who gathered the evidence on the triad societies.
While undercover operations remain among the most efficient ways to combat the gangs, the peril is also growing. In the latest swoop police took longer and proceeded with more patience, according to Cheuk.
Cheuk would not disclose the number of undercover cops involved in Nightstinger, for the safety of the officers.
Crime experts agreed on the trend, saying that triad members have become especially careful when recruiting new members.
"They look at the background of the new-comers. Think about it, if you're a triad member, you wouldn't easily trust someone who parachutes into the society," said Lam Kin-keung, a retired detective station sergeant for the OCTB and crime units.
But even if the cops successfully penetrate the triad society, it may be time-consuming to gain the trust of hardcore members.
"The ultimate goal to combat triad society is to secure proof of triad-related crimes, such as member recruitment, expansion of activities and tussles between different tongs," said Lam. He added these crimes are much more difficult to prove since there are usually no victims.
Lam continued that triad members may not withdraw from the societies if they are convicted of only minor crimes. They may just go back to the circle after spending less than two years in jail.
In Nightstinger, undercover cops have collected more than 200 pieces of solid crime evidence. These include confessions of triad membership, managing a triad society, drug trafficking, blackmail, smuggling of cigarettes, illegal weapons and selling pornographic DVDs.
Lam agreed that Nightstinger was a successful operation, because it did not end at large-scale "harassment" of the daily bread-and-butter revenue source of the triad. Those activities are important enough to the triads, but more importantly, the operation also smashed the mainstays of the organizations per se.
Still, Lam said he observed a general trend, that undercover operations are getting harder.
A couple of years ago, several informants joked and complained about the penetration of undercover cops in the triad societies when they talked to Lam.
Police arrested 222 triad members, including nine big guns, and three juveniles in the sweep. The youngest of those arrested is only 15.
The suspects come mainly from the territory's most active triad tongs, including Sun Yee On, 14K and Wong Shing Wo.
The latest undercover operation, plotted and played out by the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB), is said to have lasted two years, the longest undercover operation ever, said Cheuk Hau-yip, acting chief superintendent of the OCTB.
Contacts within the triad society informed police about new recruitment two years ago. That was when the OCTB grabbed the chance to sneak in some of the moles who gathered the evidence on the triad societies.
While undercover operations remain among the most efficient ways to combat the gangs, the peril is also growing. In the latest swoop police took longer and proceeded with more patience, according to Cheuk.
Cheuk would not disclose the number of undercover cops involved in Nightstinger, for the safety of the officers.
Crime experts agreed on the trend, saying that triad members have become especially careful when recruiting new members.
"They look at the background of the new-comers. Think about it, if you're a triad member, you wouldn't easily trust someone who parachutes into the society," said Lam Kin-keung, a retired detective station sergeant for the OCTB and crime units.
But even if the cops successfully penetrate the triad society, it may be time-consuming to gain the trust of hardcore members.
"The ultimate goal to combat triad society is to secure proof of triad-related crimes, such as member recruitment, expansion of activities and tussles between different tongs," said Lam. He added these crimes are much more difficult to prove since there are usually no victims.
Lam continued that triad members may not withdraw from the societies if they are convicted of only minor crimes. They may just go back to the circle after spending less than two years in jail.
In Nightstinger, undercover cops have collected more than 200 pieces of solid crime evidence. These include confessions of triad membership, managing a triad society, drug trafficking, blackmail, smuggling of cigarettes, illegal weapons and selling pornographic DVDs.
Lam agreed that Nightstinger was a successful operation, because it did not end at large-scale "harassment" of the daily bread-and-butter revenue source of the triad. Those activities are important enough to the triads, but more importantly, the operation also smashed the mainstays of the organizations per se.
Still, Lam said he observed a general trend, that undercover operations are getting harder.
A couple of years ago, several informants joked and complained about the penetration of undercover cops in the triad societies when they talked to Lam.
