Joint anti-triad sweep nets 4,749 and HK$697 million
On.cc · 2 SOURCES1 day ago2 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong police said a large-scale Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao joint operation, codenamed Thunderbolt 2026, was carried out in two phases from July 4 to August 8 and from October 9 to October 30. The intelligence-led crackdown targeted triad-related and organised crime activities, cross-boundary offences and criminal revenue streams, resulting in 4,749 arrests and seizures worth more than HK$697 million.
Key Points
- Police said the operation involved two enforcement phases and focused on dismantling organised crime networks and cutting off their sources of income.
- Officers inspected more than 1,500 premises and shut down more than 700 illegal venues, including suspected money-laundering centres, gambling dens, vice establishments, drug dens and unlicensed bars.
- Among the 4,749 people arrested were 2,926 men and 1,823 women aged between 12 and 92, including 907 mainland Chinese and 558 non-ethnic Chinese suspects.
- Alleged offences included murder, inviting others to join a triad, unlawful imprisonment, conspiracy to wound, criminal intimidation, drug trafficking, running illegal gambling venues and money laundering.
- Seized items included more than HK$25.3 million in cash, about 835 kilograms of drugs, 15,132 litres of illicit fuel and 16.78 million duty-unpaid cigarettes.
Why It Matters
The scale of the arrests and seizures points to sustained enforcement pressure on cross-boundary criminal networks that operate through gambling, drugs, vice and suspected money laundering in Hong Kong. Police said they will continue close liaison and intelligence exchanges with mainland and Macao counterparts, indicating further coordinated action is likely.