Police arrest 68 over illegal debt recovery and bar thefts

Sixty-eight people were arrested for allegedly participating in illegal debt recovery activities and stealing credit cards and valuables from drunk customers at bars, with crime proceeds totaling some HK$3.2 million. 

The three-day operation, aiming to block triad societies’ sources of income, started on Thursday as police busted 24 cases and raided premises including bars, mahjong parlors, homes, and commercial units. 

The 30 men and 38 women aged 17 to 57 were arrested for claiming to be an office-bearer of a triad society, criminal intimidation, criminal damage, blackmailing, fraud, theft, money laundering, and selling alcohol without a license. 

Police said the Wan Chai district recently received a number of reports as citizens said they were approached by non-Chinese women while hanging out at bars and later found their belongings or credit cards missing. 

After in-depth investigation, officers from Wan Chai crime squad targeted four bars on Lockhart Road and Jaffe Road and arrested 23 people, including 10 bar staffers and 13 South Asian and African women for theft and conspiracy to defraud. 

Investigation revealed that the suspects conspired with some of the bar staffers and stole credit cards from drunk customers to continuously make purchases. Police busted five cases and losses involved about HK$310,000. 

Police also arrested 10 men and three women for participating in illegal debt recovery activities, including splashing red paint at people’s homes and registering phone numbers that would be used to send threatening messages. 

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