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The Immigration Department (ImmD), the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Bureau (GDPSB) and the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) executed a joint operation from 22 September to 23 September, codenamed CORALFISH, during which a human smuggling syndicate specializing in forging Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passports was smashed. As a result, the mastermind, 3 forgers and 11 active members of the syndicate were arrested; and 3 forgery workshops at 3 hideouts among the residential area in Guangzhou were cracked down, a spokesman of the Immigration Department said today (September 27).

In the first phase of this operation, the GDPSB logged on the prime targets in the first place. When the transaction of forged passports was in progress on 22 September, the GDPSB officers took the opportunity to arrest 2 forgers on the spot and triggered off the operation. 70 officers were then mobilized. 3 forgery workshops were smashed. Another forger was arrested. Among the 3 forgers, 2 of them are Hong Kong residents while the other 1 is a Mainland resident. The suspected mastermind and 2 active members were also arrested on the same day in Guangzhou.

6 intact HKSAR passports and 2 forged ones, a finished counterfeit bio data page of HKSAR passport and a large quantity of implements fit for forgery were seized. They include a set of computer devices, printers, laminator and simulated laminates of HKSAR passport, British National (Overseas) passport, Taiwanese passport and other types of passports and others. The 6 arrestees, comprising 4 male and 2 female, are still being detained by the GDPSB.

Corresponding enforcement actions were taken at the Hong Kong side at 6 am on 23 September. About 50 officers from each of the Investigation Division of the ImmD and the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) of the HKPF were mobilized to raid 13 target addresses. A total of 9 syndicate members active in Hong Kong were arrested, including 8 male and 1 female, aged between 25 and 65. During the operation, a total of 62 items were seized at a prime target's address, which included laminator and various types of laminate. Some of the arrestees had admitted to have aided and abetted others in using forged travel documents or illegally transferred their travel documents. All the 9 arrested persons were released on bail in cash deposit from $2,000 to $5,000 after the enquiries.

Furthermore, continual enforcement action was extended to the Hong Kong International Airport. On 24 September and 25 September, the ImmD deployed 45 additional investigators to patrol inside the airport departure lounge and conduct spot checks against suspicious passengers. A total of 362 passengers were checked. Among them, a total of 2 male and 3 female, aged between 18 and 25, who were suspected of using forged PRC passports and Taiwan passports, were arrested. 4 of them had been charged of the related offenses while the other one is being detained for enquiries.

Since the end of 1999, the ImmD has placed a watchful eye on the activities of the syndicate concerned. The investigation suggested that the main illegal activities of that syndicate were undertaken in the Mainland, which included the production of forged travel documents, the recruitment of its clients, etc. The ImmD therefore, on a number of occasions, exchanged the intelligence with the GDPSB, and the 2 parties set up a special task force to conduct in-depth investigation into the syndicate. After the exertion of mutual efforts, the target persons and the places of making the forgeries were precisely identified. The mastermind is a Mainland resident while the other key syndicate members are residents of the Mainland, Macau and Hong Kong.

The syndicate provided the forged passports and the entire human smuggling arrangements to the illegal migrants at a package cost ranging from 40,000 to more than 100,000 RMB per head. The syndicate was able to produce a forged passport within 3 days. Apart from the HKSAR passports, BN(O) passports, Portuguese passports and other types of passports were also abused.

By late 2000, the HKPF was invited to join the operation for concerted effort against this sophisticated forgery and human smuggling syndicate. Officers from the OCTB, Commercial Crime Bureau and Criminal Intelligence Bureau provided support in intelligence enquiry, financial investigation and arrest operation.

After 2 years' in-depth investigation, the cross-territory operation smashed the syndicate in one go. The mastermind and the core members of the syndicate were netted. It is believed that the syndicate has been totally disintegrated.

Ever since the issuance of the HKSAR passports in 1997, a total of more than 1.85 million HKSAR passports have been issued. Through the strenuous global promotion undertaken by the ImmD, the HKSAR passports have earned visa waiver concessions from 92 foreign countries.

The spokesman said," the ImmD has always been watchful of the forging of the HKSAR passports and the using of forged travel documents and exerting maximum effort in combating this type of illegal activity. The ImmD has periodically exchanged intelligence with the local and overseas agencies. A Joint Investigation Team has been set up among the ImmD, the Custom and Excise Department and the OCTB of the HKPF. The operation is the foremost cross-territory and cross-agency operation of the Joint Investigation Team."

He added, "the ImmD hopes that, through this large-scale operation, the HKSAR Government's determination in combating forgery and human smuggling activities can be well illustrated. The ImmD and the other related parties would keep on working together to counteract this type of illegal activity."

End/September 27, 2001 (Thursday)

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