Police conducted an anti-triad operation from April 13 to 14, arresting 18 local individuals on charges including "money laundering," "managing a gambling establishment," "gambling in a gambling establishment," "criminal damage," "assault occasioning actual bodily harm," and "soliciting others to become triad members." Police held a briefing today (April 14) on the cases.
Police said that during the operation, officers raided an illegal gambling den operated by a target triad group that had rented a residential unit in the district. Searches were carried out at multiple target locations, resulting in the arrest of 18 people (15 men and 3 women), including the triad leader and a 14-year-old student. The student was accused of pressuring and enticing peers to join the triad, but police intervened in time to prevent any students from being recruited.
Regarding the enforcement process, police said the triad group was active in the North Point area. Since the end of last year, the group had rented a residential unit in North Point to operate an illegal gambling den. They lured certain gamblers to provide their personal bank accounts and placed the account deposit numbers in prominent locations within the gambling den to collect bets from other gamblers. During the operation, police seized seven fishing game machines and cash bets. The gamblers who provided their accounts have been arrested. Furthermore, investigations revealed that the triad leader allegedly used a bank account under his name to launder nearly HK$10 million in suspected criminal proceeds and gambling funds over the past four years. Detectives seized a number of gold items, jewellery, and designer handbags from his girlfriend's residence, suspected of being linked to money laundering proceeds.
Police said that one of those arrested, a 14-year-old secondary school student, claimed to be a triad member and had been pressuring and luring friends and classmates to join the triad. He also required them to undergo a simple initiation ceremony, including receiving a "lucky money" packet of HK$36.6. Police attach great importance to such cases and arrested the student on the charge of soliciting others to become triad members.
Police said they will continue to work with stakeholders from all sectors, including parents, teachers and schools, to carry out multifaceted crime prevention publicity, jointly building a barrier to prevent youth crime, fostering positive values and enhancing awareness of the law. Police also urged parents to remind their children to be cautious in choosing friends. Parents and teachers who find that their children are being harassed by criminals should immediately come forward to report it, to prevent more people from falling victim. Police emphasised a zero-tolerance approach to youth crime, stressing that even minors who commit offences must bear criminal liability.
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