Police arrest 58 in raids on suspected triad businesses in Kowloon East
Monday, 14 October, 2013 [Updated: 5:58PM]
Samuel Chan [email protected]
Police raided 67 locations in Kowloon East before arresting 58 people suspected of by being involved in illegal activities in the area. Photo: Felix Wong
Fifty-eight members of the Sun Yee On triad suspected of being involved in illegal activities, including illegal gambling and prostitution, have been arrested after numerous raids by Hong Kong police.
The arrests, announced on Monday, were the result of a police undercover operation that lasted for three months and involved over 100 officers.
The 58 arrested were aged between 13 and 42, eight were mainlanders, nine were under the age of 16, and 13 were secondary school students.
Police searched 67 locations where they confiscated various weapons, including knives and metal pipes.
Police senior superintendent Eugene Yue of the Kowloon East region said there were no signs of triad infiltration in schools as the secondary school students arrested – all male – attended 11 different schools.
Youngsters loitering in parks near public housing estates in Kwun Tong and Tseung Kwan O were often the targets of triad recruiters, Yue said. Many lured by free meals or drinks ended up accepting jobs as doormen at triad-controlled discos or trafficing drugs, he said.
Police also raided an underground gambling den in Mongkok where they confiscated HK$690,000 in cash as well as baccarat gambling tools and cards.
The operation also revealed that triad members were using rooms in newly built high-end hotels in Kowloon East for prostitution. Eight prostitutes, all from the mainland, were among those arrested.
Police said the raids and arrests had dealt a blow to the triads by knocking out some of their sources of income.
Thirteen schoolboys held in Sun Yee On triad crackdown
Monday, 14 October, 2013 [Updated: 11:05PM]
Samuel Chan [email protected]
Police raided 67 locations in Kowloon East before arresting 58 people suspected of by being involved in illegal activities in the area. Photo: Felix Wong
Police have busted the Kowloon East faction of the Sun Yee On triad and made 58 arrests, nine of them aged between 13 and 16, officers say.
The crackdown across 67 locations marked the culmination of an undercover operation that mobilised more than 100 officers over the past few months.
Police also seized HK$690,000 in cash at a gambling den and weapons including knives and metal water pipes.
Eight of the arrested were mainlanders. Another 13 were secondary school boys.
Police senior superintendent Eugene Yue of Kowloon East said the arrests of the boys did not signal triad infiltration in schools as they attended 11 different schools. "Many [youngsters] are lured by small perks such as free meals or drinks," Yue said. "Some of them are asked to be doormen at discos or to traffic drugs."
Teenagers loitering at the parks of public housing estates in Kwun Tong and Tseung Kwan O were often the targets of triad recruitment, he said.
From January to September, 320 crime cases involved people under 16, down from 402 cases in the same period last year, he said.
The suspects, aged between 13 and 42, face charges that include illegal betting, trafficking of dangerous drugs, living on the earnings of prostitution, acting or claiming to be a triad member, robbery and wounding.
The raids included an underground gambling den in Mong Kok that accepted bets from overseas. Police confiscated the HK$690,000 as well as baccarat gambling tools and cards.
Officers also swooped on prostitution activities in newly built upmarket hotels in Kowloon East, including Kwun Tong and Kowloon Bay.
Six mainland prostitutes, aged between 17 and 38, were caught for breaching their conditions of stay. Two local women, 40 and 42, were arrested for soliciting for an immoral purpose.
Police said it was the second time in two months that they had found triads using rooms in pricier hotels for prostitution in Kowloon East. The syndicate is believed to have been active for more than a month.
Five of the suspects are still being held for investigation. The crackdown is ongoing and more arrests are expected.
