HK arrests over 4,000 people in joint operation with Guangdong, Macao police

Hong Kong Police Force announced on Wednesday that over 100 million HK dollars (about 12.9 million U.S. dollars) were seized and a total of 4,343 people were arrested in Hong Kong in an operation jointly conducted with Guangdong and Macao police.

The Hong Kong Police mounted a series of operations to combat organized crime between June 15 and Sept. 18 in support of a special operation codenamed "Thunderbolt 15" jointly conducted by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao police authorities.

Chief Superintendent of Organized Crime and Triad Bureau of Hong Kong Police Force Au Chin-chau said at a press conference that there were over 65,000 Hong Kong officers turnout at the operation, over 7,500 locations in Hong Kong including amusement game centers, entertainment establishments and residential premises were raided.

Of the 4,343 people arrested in Hong Kong, 1,177 were from Chinese Mainland. They were suspected of committing crimes such as overstaying, illegal working and prostituting.

The total value of seizure was over 102 million HK dollars, which, Au said, included drugs worth 67 million HK dollars, smuggled cigarettes, weapons and cash.

As for Guangdong province, the police arrested over 11,300 people for various criminal offense; nearly 4,000 people were brought back to police station in Macao for inquiry and investigation.

The successful outcome of this operation rely on the long standing collaboration between the police of the three regions, Au said, adding that Hong Kong police will continue to target triad members and activities by mounting intelligent led operations to combat crime to ensure Hong Kong remains one of the safest places in the world. (1 U.S. dollar = 7.75 HK dollars) Endi