Vietnamese workers smuggled into Hong Kong under trucks
Gang's methods echo those Vietnamese war refugees used to enter city
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 21 January, 2015, 12:53am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 21 January, 2015, 12:53am
Samuel Chan [email protected]
Illegal Vietnamese immigrants would be hidden in the hollow space next to the back wheels of trucks bound for Hong Kong. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
A raid sounded echoes of a turbulent chapter in Hong Kong's history as 23 people were arrested yesterday - some of whom are believed to be core members of a syndicate that was smuggling illegal Vietnamese workers across the border hidden beneath trucks.
The operation, codenamed Firenet, was conducted jointly between the Immigration Department and their counterparts in Guangdong and Shenzhen, between January 9 and 13. Of the 23 arrested, 10 were Hong Kong residents, 12 were Vietnamese and one was from the mainland.
Among the Hongkongers, the Immigration Department said they believed three were core members of the syndicate while six were found to be employing illegal workers.
"We believe the syndicate had been active for about three months," said principal immigration officer Choi Yue-ning at the Lok Ma Chau checkpoint yesterday. "After this large-scale raid, [we] have smashed [it]."
Choi explained that the Vietnamese workers would cross the border into China legally, into southwest Guangxi province. After a brief stay in Shenzhen, they would try to slip into the city hidden in the hollow space between the undercarriage and the wheels of Hong Kong-bound trucks, usually during the early hours of the morning.
The raid brings back memories of Hong Kong's 25-year battle with illegal immigration from Vietnam when refugees fleeing the war and its aftermath flocked to the city.
It also highlights the city's labour shortage, with all of the Vietnamese immigrants arrested found to be working in jobs that paid at least the minimum wage. Each of them was charged between HK$8,000 and HK$10,000 for the transit.
Nine forged Hong Kong identity cards were seized, all of them described as low quality and lacking the security features of the genuine ones.
A forged construction worker's registration card, based on ones issued by the Construction Workers Registration Authority, was also seized, but the department said it had made no arrests at any construction sites during the operation.
In March last year, a 25-year-old from Vietnam - working illegally as a construction worker - fell to his death while working on Tregunter Tower 3 on Tregunter Path, Mid-Levels, when an 11-metre-long cradle broke.
Five of the 12 Vietnamese arrested filed applications claiming to be fleeing torture. The department said it would speed up procedures for these cases as it believed their intention was to seek employment in Hong Kong.
While the number of non-Chinese illegal immigrants arrested has remained stable in recent years, the department said it had noticed an increase in illegal immigrants from Vietnam with about 150 arrested last September and about 156 in October.
The total number of illegal immigrants the syndicate had brought to the city is still under investigation.
