65 arrested as Hong Kong police raid unlicensed nightclubs, gambling dens

Hong Kong police have arrested 65 people in a crackdown on a criminal syndicate accused of running unlicensed nightclubs and gambling dens, where suspects allegedly served illicit drugs and hired illegal workers as hostesses.

Superintendent Ching Chi-yan said on Sunday that the force’s intelligence indicated a criminal syndicate was running illegal nightclubs inside industrial buildings in Hung Hom, as well as gambling dens in other areas of Kowloon West, prompting the operation.

“Over the past two days, the Kowloon West regional crime headquarters launched a large-scale operation named Thunderbolt and Roaring Tiger to disrupt this syndicate’s sources of income,” Ching said.

From Friday to Saturday, police and the Immigration Department deployed more than 170 officers to raid 10 venues across Hung Hom, Yau Ma Tei, Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po.

Of the 65 arrested, 40 were men and 25 women, aged between 25 and 63. They face a range of charges, including drug trafficking, illegal gambling, money laundering and violating conditions of stay in Hong Kong.

The first raid targeted suspected illegal nightclubs operating inside industrial buildings in Hung Hom, where syndicate members were also suspected to have provided illegal drugs to patrons and hired mainland Chinese women who came to the city on a two-way permit to work as hostesses.