Hong Kong police arrest more than 4,300 people and seize illegal drugs worth HK$768 million and proceeds

Hong Kong police have arrested more than 4,300 people and seized HK$768 million (US$98.5 million) worth of illegal drugs and suspected proceeds of crime in a two-month joint operation with their counterparts from Macau and Guangdong to combat triads and organised crime syndicates.

Police said on Friday that raids were carried out on around 2,300 locations between June 22 and August 15 as part of an operation codenamed “Thunderbolt 2024”, including illegal locations such as gambling dens, crime dens and unlicensed bars.

“During the operation, officers seized a significant quantity of illegal substances, including gambling paraphernalia and weapons, as well as suspected proceeds of crime valued at HK$38 million and illegal drugs valued at an estimated HK$730 million,” police said.

The illegal drugs seized in the large-scale operation included cocaine, cannabis, ketamine, crystal meth and heroin.

Annual operations usually begin before the handover anniversary on July 1st.

In one of the drug raids, Narcotics Investigation Bureau officers made the largest cocaine seizure of the year. Last month, they confiscated drugs worth HK$300 million from a flat in Yuen Long. A 22-year-old man was arrested in the raid.

As part of this annual operation, police arrested 4,320 people for various crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering, possession of offensive weapons, claiming to be a member of a triad, and operating drug dens, gambling establishments or brothels.

According to police, the suspects, aged between 12 and 72, include 778 people from mainland China and 431 people residing outside China.

The aim of the joint operation, in which police officers from Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong province took part, was to “curb the activities of triad societies and organized crime syndicates, combat cross-border crime and prevent illegal sources of income,” police said.

In Hong Kong, the “clean-up” operation was coordinated by the city’s Organized Crime and Triads Bureau and supported by all six local police regions.

“The Hong Kong police will continue to maintain close communication and information sharing with their counterparts in mainland China and Macau to combat cross-border triad syndicates and maintain public confidence in law and order,” the police said.

In the first six months of this year, 5,156 cases of violent crime were registered in the city, 8.3 percent more than in the same period in 2023 (4,759 reports).

In March, authorities installed 15 surveillance cameras in Mong Kok. The aim is to install a total of 2,000 cameras by the end of the year, with a focus on densely populated areas and areas with high crime rates.

Police said on Thursday that 13 more surveillance cameras had been installed in the Western District on Hong Kong Island, where the central government's liaison office is located.