Triad feels heat in wake of TST hit

Police have cracked down on illegal operations relating to the Tsuen Wan-based Wo Shing Wo triad after its leader was shot due to an internal rivalry.

The 45-year-old leader, Yim, better known as "Crazy Yung," was shot in the chest by a motorcycle-riding gunman on Tuesday while in his car in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Twenty-three people were arrested in an operation codenamed "Levinton," which saw an upstairs bar on 107 to 109 Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui, raided in a joint operation by officers from the organized crime and triad bureau, Kowloon west anti-triad unit, police tactical unit and police dog unit on Tuesday.

Eight men and five women, aged 19 to 47, were arrested for selling liquor without a license, drinking in unlicensed premises and drug trafficking.

They also seized 28 grams of suspected heroin worth HK$99,000 and around HK$180,000 in cash.

Police also crippled a gambling den in a raid on a unit on 21 Soy Street in Mong Kok just after midnight yesterday.

Seven men and three women, aged 24 to 58, were arrested, including a 37-year-old man from the mainland.

They were held for offenses including gambling in a gambling establishment. One of them, a 30-year-old man, was also arrested for operating an illegal gambling establishment.

Later in the day, officers from New Territories south anti-triad unit broke into a flat on 114 Chung On Street in Tsuen Wan and seized gambling tools such as a baccarat table. No arrests were made.

Police said all those arrested in the operations could have breached restrictions under the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance.

Alan Chung Nga-lun, superintendent of Kowloon West crime unit, said "Crazy Yung" was in stable condition after a nine-millimeter bullet was removed from his chest at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

"We are highly concerned about crimes related to triads - especially those involving firearms," he said.

It is understood that the spat between Crazy Yung and a former Wo Shing Wo leader was over a pier for smuggling.

"Crazy Yung" allegedly smuggles frozen meat and upset the former leader when he only paid HK$100,000 in "cross traveling expenses" to the latter, who controls the Tsuen Wan pier territory.