More than 2,500 locations were raided as a part of the month long operation codenamed “Thunderbolt 11” in Southern China including night clubs and massage parlors.
According to Fox News, the operation was aimed at curbing the prevalence of illegal activities, and to destabilize organized crime links between Hong Kong, Macao, and the Chinese mainland.
Of the 567 men and 514 women arrested, 347 were from mainland China. In addition to the arrests, authorities seized 11 million HK dollars ($1.4 million) worth of illegal contraband including 19.5 kg of ketamine, 20 kg of heroin, 190,000 pirated pornographic tapes, soccer and horse betting records listing more than 119 million HK dollars ($15.2 million), contraband cigarettes and stolen fuel.
According to Xinhua net, an online Chinese news publication, some of the charges against the suspects are connections to criminal organizations, drug offences, managing vice establishments, illegal gambling, criminal damage, and publishing pornography.
Acting Superintendent of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) Ng Wai-hon said that “we will continue maintaining close cooperation with the mainland and Macao police forces and adopting an intelligence-led approach to combat organized crime ... so as to maintain Hong Kong as one of the safest and most stable societies."
The (OCTB) is the Hong Kong Police Force’s special unit dedicated specifically to reduce the influence of organized crime and to combat illegal activities in the city.
