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Hong Kong triad mastermind among five arrested in police crackdown on drugs syndicate
Traffickers lured youths as young as 13 to act as drug couriers; sixth suspect is still on run
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 27 January, 2016, 6:02pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 27 January, 2016, 6:14pm
Clifford Lo
[email protected]
One of the five suspects picked up in the series of raids – the culmination of a two-year investigation. Photo: SCMP Pictures
The alleged triad mastermind and four core members of a drug trafficking ring that recruited youths to act as couriers and laundered HK$220 million over the past 10 years were arrested in a series of police raids on Wednesday morning.
The 59-year-old, believed to be a Sun Yee On triad faction leader, had hired more than 60 youngsters, one aged just 13, over the past two years. Officers picked him up at his Kwun Tong home at about 7am.
Three other arrested men were said to hold the rank of “red-pole fighter” – a senior triad member who acts as an enforcer.
The fifth suspect was a Hong Kong woman in her forties. Her husband, also a red-pole fighter, is still on the run.
Another suspect is driven away for police questioning. Photo: SCMP Pictures
“Initial investigations showed that over the past few years, the gang used seven bank accounts and a {Jockey Club} account to launder HK$220 million in drug and other criminal proceeds,” said Chief Inspector Lam Cheuk-ho of Kowloon East regional crime unit.
He said police were still chasing the source of the money and collecting evidence.
Officers believe some of the money was amassed through extortion.
Officers from the narcotics bureau and Kowloon East regional crime unit began investigating the syndicate about two years ago when it recruited youths as drug traffickers in an attempt to evade arrest.
Lam said that over the past two years, police had arrested 63 alleged drug traffickers aged from 13 to 21 and confiscated illegal drugs with an estimated street value of HK$3.2 million in 47 drug transactions involving the syndicate.
“The youths were recruited by the syndicate while hanging out in parks, cybercafes, video game centres and sitting-out areas at public housing estates,” he said, adding that the gang used money to lure them into such drug-related offences.
After identifying the key figures of the syndicate over the two-year investigation, about 50 officers raided six flats in Kowloon East and arrested the five suspects at about 7am on Wednesday.
The suspects, aged 37 to 59, were arrested on suspicion of dealing in proceeds relating to drug trafficking, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail and a HK$5 million fine.
They are now being questioned and none has been charged.
Latest police figures show seizures of cocaine rose by 162 per cent to 341kg last year from 130kg in 2014, while seizures of ketamine increased by 140 per cent to 802kg from 334kg.
