119 held in crackdown on triad-run drug, sex and gambling businesses in Hong Kong

Hong Kong police have rounded up 119 people in a two-week operation against triad-controlled drug, sex and gambling businesses, as well as fraud activities.

The force said on Monday that eight of the suspects were alleged members of a fraud syndicate who used fake banknotes to swindle six residents out of HK$2 million (US$256,142) worth of high-end products between March and July.

The victims were approached when they tried to sell items such as luxury watches and wine through various online platforms, according to Senior Inspector Thomas Anthony Lo of the force’s Hong Kong Island regional anti-triad squad.

Lo said members of the triad-run syndicate arranged face-to-face transactions in a bid to get victims to lower their guard.

“During the meetings, swindlers posing as an appraiser and a buyer claimed the need to take the goods for appraisal and then distracted the victims by showing a bundle of ‘cash’ wrapped in a transparent plastic bag,” he said.

The fraudsters took the valuables but left the bag of “cash” behind.

Lo said the victims realised they had been scammed when they discovered only the top and the bottom notes were authentic. The rest were bogus, or training, notes, with three Chinese characters meaning “practice coupon” printed on them.

The training notes look genuine aside from the three Chinese characters printed on them. They bear no security features such as a watermark and are said to be used by mainland Chinese bank staff for training and counting practice.

After gathering evidence, police arrested three men and five women, recovered HK$240,000 worth of valuables stolen in the six cases, and seized 1,550 bogus notes during the operation code-named “Rousewit”, mounted between July 21 and August 3.

During the operation, officers apprehended the other 111 people when they raided and shut down five vice establishments and seven gambling dens, and cracked down on 13 drug-related cases on Hong Kong Island.

In one of the cases, officers from the Hong Kong Island regional crime unit confiscated HK$1.9 million worth of suspected cocaine in a residential flat that was allegedly used as a drug-producing facility

The 119 suspects, aged 20 to 88, comprised 88 locals, 19 mainland visitors and 12 holders of a recognisance form, a temporary identification document issued by the Immigration Department that allows the bearer to stay, but not work, in the city.

They were detained on suspicion of various offences, including trafficking in a dangerous drug, operating a gambling establishment, managing a drug den and running a brothel.

Lo said some of the suspects were believed to have triad backgrounds.

He said police would continue to gather intelligence, carry out proactive patrols and conduct raids to combat drug, sex and gambling businesses, as well as “quick cash” crimes.

Police handled 787 reports of triad-related crimes across the city between January and May this year, a 6.2 per cent rise from 741 cases logged in the same period in 2023.