*************************************************
The Hong Kong Police participated in a joint operation against telephone deception between September 23 and 25, resulting in the arrest of 31 persons in Hong Kong, the Mainland and Taiwan. They are in suspected connection with numerous telephone deception cases in Taiwan, involving a total loss of HK$189 million.
Since 2013, the Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) of the Hong Kong Police has coordinated an operation against Taiwan's telephone deception cases and related money laundering activities, codenamed "Operation WILDCRATER".
CCB had conducted intelligence gathering and analysis into all Taiwan's telephone deception cases relating to Hong Kong since 2012. In early 2014, CCB exchanged relevant intelligence with the law enforcement agencies of the Mainland, Taiwan and Macao. Analysis on the exchanged intelligence and investigation revealed that a cross-border telephone deception syndicate was in suspected connection with numerous cases in Taiwan.
After five months of joint investigation, the Hong Kong Police mounted a joint operation with the law enforcement counterparts of the Mainland, Taiwan and Macao between September 23 and 25 in various locations in the quadripartite territories.
During the operation, 31 persons, including 26 men and five women, aged between 22 and 51, were arrested (including six, four and 21 persons were arrested in Hong Kong, the Mainland and Taiwan respectively). They were related to 87 telephone deception cases in Taiwan in the past two years, and arrested for committing the offences of "Conspiracy to Defraud", "Fraud" and "Money Laundering". They are being detained for investigation by relevant law enforcement agencies respectively.
A quantity of exhibits, including personal computers/tablets, mobile phones, bank account documents, bank/ATM cards together with HK$3.2 million cash were seized, and over HK$10 million crime proceeds were frozen.
The joint investigation revealed that the Taiwanese mastermind had directed the syndicate members to recruit stooges in the Mainland for opening bank accounts in Hong Kong. Thereafter, the fraudsters made phone calls to victims in Taiwan and pretended to be law enforcement officers. The fraudsters alleged that the personal information of victims had been used for committing criminal offence, and thus demanded victims to remit money to designated bank accounts in Hong Kong for monitoring purpose and proving their innocence. Other members of the syndicate handled the crime proceeds in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao.
The Police believed that a cross-border syndicate of telephone deception targeting Taiwanese citizens had been neutralised.
The Hong Kong Police will follow up with investigation into such cases and continue to maintain close cooperation with the neighbouring law enforcement agencies against telephone deception.
Ends/Friday, September 26, 2014
Issued at HKT 13:27
NNNN
