127 arrested as Hong Kong police bust Vietnamese-led loan-sharking syndicate

Hong Kong police have arrested 127 people in a six-month undercover operation against a Vietnamese-led crime syndicate accused of running loan-sharking rackets charging interest rates of up to 3,700 per cent, as well as illegal gambling and unlicensed bars in West Kowloon.

The syndicate is also alleged to have helped illegal immigrants find shelter and work, with police raiding eight premises on October 8 and 9.

Among those arrested were 10 alleged core members, including the suspected leader, a Vietnamese woman holding a Hong Kong identity card.

“The group’s operations were very closed, recruiting only among its compatriots,” Superintendent Chiew Tsi-huen of the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau said on Saturday.

Police said they believed the syndicate had operated for at least a year.

Senior Inspector Christopher Pumar, also of the bureau, said the group used grocery shops and an association for Vietnamese residents as fronts.

It allegedly provided illegal immigrants with temporary accommodation and counterfeit Hong Kong identity cards or construction worker cards, charging HK$2,000 to HK$2,500 per document to help them find work.

Police said most of the syndicate’s core members were Vietnamese nationals holding recognisance forms.

The group also allegedly ran several illegal gambling venues offering baccarat and Vietnamese card games, as well as two unlicensed bars that offered cheap alcohol and drugs.

Its main income came from loans charged at HK$100 a day for every HK$10,000 borrowed. With interest compounded, the effective annual rate could reach 3,700 per cent – far above the legal maximum of 48 per cent – police said.

The syndicate allegedly also drew borrowers into illegal rotating credit schemes, with each scheme comprising 20 members who paid HK$5,000 every 10 days into a HK$100,000 pool.

The suspected leader decided who received each payout, while members faced hidden fees and an unclear distribution of funds.

Debtors unable to repay were allegedly threatened, assaulted or unlawfully detained. Some were also pressured to traffic drugs, police said.

The group had separate teams to promote loans, collect debts and carry out violent offences. Its services were offered only to Vietnamese residents in Hong Kong, making the syndicate harder to investigate.

Many debtors, concerned about language barriers and their immigration status, often did not seek police help, officers said.

The 127 arrested – 55 men and 72 women aged 23 to 92 – included 37 Vietnamese nationals.

Police seized more than HK$2 million in cash and valuables, along with loan records, counterfeit-document-making equipment, gambling tools and drugs. They also confiscated a car worth about HK$400,000 from the suspected leader’s home.

All those arrested remained in custody as police investigated their backgrounds and the source and movement of funds.