24,860 gangsters nabbed

GUANGZHOU -- Police from south China's Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macao have jointly broken up 1,400 gangs, cracked 10,942 criminal cases and nabbed 24,860 suspects in a sweeping crackdown on organized crime which ended the week before the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China.

The 50-day-long "Thunderbolt 07" operation, launched from early May to June 24, focused on closing down online gambling, loan sharking, cross-border prostitution and drug dealing, as well as other types of crimes, said a spokesman with the Guangdong Provincial Department of Public Security on Wednesday.

Twelve of those arrested were wanted by police in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Another is a member of Hong Kong's notorious 14K Triad. Six others are from other countries, the spokesman said.

Police confiscated 159 guns, 580 rounds of ammunition, 30 kg of heroin, 400 kg of crystal methamphetamine commonly known as "ice", 300 kg of ketamine commonly known as "K" and more than 9,000 motor vehicles, he said.

Triad-Style Attacks On Tycoon's Interests Roil Hong Kong

HONG KONG -

Every now and then, Hong Kong residents are reminded of the existence of a parallel society usually seen only in the crime movies the former British colony is so adept at producing.

A series of unusual gangland-style attacks have been made over the last few days on properties of New World Group, the business empire of billionaire Cheng Yu-tung, a patriotic tycoon with connections to top leadership in Beijing whose fortune is estimated at $6.5 billion by Forbes.

Hong Kong's Triad Police Probe Attacks on New World

July 6 (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong's anti-organized crime police are investigating attacks on properties of billionaire Cheng Yu-tung's New World Development Co. and its affiliates, including the ramming of a car into the group's headquarters.

Those behind the attacks ``are challenging the government as well as the police,'' Ambrose Lee, the city's secretary for security, said late yesterday. The police organized crime and triad bureau is investigating.

``The triads want to challenge the police openly,'' Cheng, New World's chairman, said in an interview on Hong Kong's Cable Television news channel today. ``I haven't offended anyone and no one ever blackmailed me.'' His company is Hong Kong's sixth- largest developer by market value, and also invests in public works, transport and telecommunication.