Operations
Overall
Crime
The
overall crime situation in 2000 remained stable, with the main concern
being the increased arrests of juveniles and young persons.
Organised
Crime and Triads
Constant
vigilance and enforcement has ensured that organised crime has been kept
well under control. Triad-related cases accounted for only 3.2 per cent of
reported crimes in 2000, the lowest level in many years. During the year,
the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) mounted two major undercover
operations against active triad factions that resulted in 51 people being
arrested and charged with triad-related offences.
Separate operations neutralised a number of criminal activities. Among the
successful operations, the Bureau smashed five syndicates involved in
vehicle thefts and recovered 28 vehicles. It also helped crack down on the
comparatively new phenomenon of smuggling container-loads of human cargo
from the Mainland, arresting about 50 Hong Kong citizens involved in
transhipping illegal migrants destined for the United States and Canada.
Close liaison is maintained with the public security authorities on the
Mainland to counter various cross-boundary crimes. With the assistance of
the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau (PSB), a major operation was launched
against loan-sharking and debt collection activities in April, leading to
the neutralisation of a syndicate involved in over 1 000 criminal damage
cases, and 42 people being arrested.
Special legislation enabled the Bureau to confiscate more than $780,000 in
ill-gotten gains and hold a further $148.5 million worth of assets pending
court proceedings. Twenty people were arrested for money laundering
offences.
Commercial
Crime
Serious
fraud reports levelled off at 1999 levels, remaining more than a third
down from the 144 cases recorded at the height of the Asian financial
turmoil. While there was one more case, reported losses actually decreased
to $2.24 billion, from $3.09 billion in 1999. Almost 30 per cent of the
losses came from Letter of Credit frauds, even though the number of cases
was half that of 1999.
During the year, a major crackdown on fraudulent loco-London gold trading
¡X where prospective job seekers were enticed to enter into deceptive or
non-existent plans on bullion trading ¡X resulted in a 70 per cent drop
in cases. Of concern, however, was the emergence of sophisticated pyramid
scheme-related frauds. The Commercial Crime Bureau exposed two high
profile cases in late 2000 that led to the prosecution of eight
individuals and a total of $71 million worth of suspected fraud proceeds
being restrained under the Organised & Serious Crime Ordinance.
Computer-related crimes continued to increase in line with the growth of
information technology, although the total number remained small compared
to other crimes. The most common offences were hacking of web sites,
malicious data damage and internet-related frauds. It is hoped that the
successful prosecution and jailing of some hackers during the year will
serve as a stronger deterrent.
The need to strengthen the Force's operational capability against
computer-related crimes was endorsed by the Chief Executive in his 2000
Policy Address. Within 2001, the current Computer Crime Section will be
upgraded to a Division headed by a Senior Superintendent, and a Computer
Forensic Examination Laboratory will be established to meet the increasing
demand for such scrutiny.
The problem of counterfeit Hong Kong banknotes was generally contained
apart from during the summer when more surfaced than normal. Based on an
intelligence operation, the Bureau neutralised two major production
centres for inkjet counterfeits, seizing a substantial number of these
popular fake notes. In the case of counterfeit coins, the number detected
dropped by 32 per cent compared to 1999.
Counterfeit payment cards remain a growing global problem, but Hong Kong
has been affected less than other countries in the Asia-Pacific Region.
The Bureau was able to neutralise two secondary production centres for
counterfeit credit cards during the year.
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