Hong Kong busts 65 people over illegal gambling, drugs

• Hong Kong has arrested dozens of people linked to illegal gambling and drugs
• At least 29 of the 65 arrested people were slapped with gambling-related charges
• Hong Kong remains determined to uproot illegal activities

Police in Hong Kong continue to crack down on illegal activities related to drugs and gambling, with 65 members of a criminal syndicate now arrested. The suspects were arrested in relation to their participation in a large-scale unlawful operation involving the running of gambling dens and unlicensed nightclubs.

Hong Kong police crack down on suspected illegal gambling dens

The suspects are similarly embroiled in allegedly supplying drugs and running an illegal hostesses service.

"Over the past two days, the Kowloon West regional crime headquarters launched a large-scale operation, code-named Thunderbolt and Roaring Tiger, to disrupt this syndicate’s sources of income," Superintendent Billy Ching Chi-yan.

The operation involved more than 170 police officers and took place from Friday to Saturday, resulting in 10 venues being raided by authorities. Out of the 65 suspects, 40 were men, and 25 were women. Police raided illegal nightclubs, and specifically, three suspected gambling dens.

The syndicate was offering fishing arcade games, with Chief Inspector Alex Yau Yu-sing of Kowloon West’s regional anti-triad unit detailing the case. He argued that syndicate members purchased access to customers’ bank accounts and used them as mules to handle the gambling den’s proceeds.

Police specifically arrested 21 men and eight women suspected of operating and running an illegal gambling establishment, as well as gambling in an illegal gambling establishment.

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