37 held for extorting money from lunchbox hawkers at construction sites
Police made the arrests 10 months after detectives posing as hawkers were deployed
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 29 May, 2014, 7:52pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 29 May, 2014, 7:52pm
Clifford Lo [email protected]
Photo: Nora Tam
A series of raids after a 10-month undercover operation has crippled two triad gangs who pocketed millions of dollars a month by extorting money from food hawkers, police say.
Thirty-seven people – 18 men and 19 women - were picked up outside five construction sites in Tai Po, Ma On Shan, Sha Tin, Kwun Tong and Pat Heung and a cooked-food stall in Tsuen Wan at about 10am yesterday.
They are alleged to have made millions of dollars charging hawkers fees for allowing them to deliver lunch boxes to five construction sites.
The 37, all from Hong Kong, included three alleged high-ranking members of the Sun Yee On and 14K triad societies, who are suspected of being key figures in two gangs, a police source said.
Fifteen delivery vans used to transport lunchboxes were impounded during the operation. Police also seized HK$90,000 in cash, three account books, 15 mobile phones and a large number of lunchboxes.
The arrests were made after officers posing as hawkers were sent to the construction sites about 10 months ago.
“Initial investigation showed each hawker had to pay up to HK$50,000 as a joining fee if he wanted to sell lunchboxes at a construction site,” Superintendent Ng Wai-honof the police Organised Crime and Triad Bureau said. “They also needed to pay a monthly subscription from HK$3,000 to HK$20,000.”
He said hawkers were also charged a few dollars for each lunchbox they sold.
Police said those who refused to pay or left the scheme criminal intimidation and assault.
More than 2,000 boxes a day are understood to have been sold at one construction site.
“The triad gangs could pocket up to HK$1 million a month at one construction site,” Ng said.
He believes the two triad gangs had been in operation for more than two years. The Organised Crime and Triad Bureau began investigating the two gangs in July. The undercover officers collected evidence and identified core figures of the two gangs.
Last night, the suspects aged 18 to 58, were being held for questioning and none had been charged.
The operation is continuing. Police say further arrests are expected.
