The police busted a local fraud syndicate and arrested 27 people. They were suspected of defrauding multiple local and overseas victims during the operation for about a year, with a total amount of defrauding as much as NT$360 million. The police said that the arrested persons were relatively young, and the mastermind was a 29-year-old San Ngee Ann gangster. More than half of the arrested persons had at least a Form 6 education, and 6 of them had graduated from well-known local universities. They also pointed out that they reported to the fraud syndicate involved in the case. After applying for a job and being hired, they will be informed of the real business of the fraud group, but the arrested person is still deceived by the commission commission that can be as high as 40% after committing the crime, and is willing to become a fraudster and commit the crime.
Superintendent Yao Yongqin of the New Territories South Regional Crime Headquarters said that the police received intelligence about the fraud group involved in the case in August this year. After two months of investigation, they identified the location of its operation center and the identities of the group members, and took action on the 9th of this month. The arrest operation codenamed "Code Word" mobilized more than 100 detectives from the New Territories South Region Crime Division, and officers from the Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau assisted in collecting evidence related to Internet and cryptocurrency transactions.
During the operation, the police arrested 21 men and 6 women (aged 21 to 34) on suspicion of "conspiracy to defraud", including key members of the fraud group, some of whom have underworld backgrounds. Detectives seized 41 computers and servers and 137 mobile phones at the group's nearly 4,000-square-foot operations center in an industrial building in Hung Hom. The relevant groups were divided into different teams to commit fraud. The police also seized 15 Tietong and 4 hammers and other offensive weapons in the office of one of the arrested 24-year-old "team leader" named Chen. The team leader was also involved in " Arrested for Possession of an Assault Weapon. All arrested persons have been released on bail pending further investigation and must report to the police in late October.
A large number of computers, phones, weapons and luxury watches were seized. The mastermind owned a $2 million Richard Mille watch.
During the operation, the police also seized some of the proceeds suspected to be criminal groups, including more than HK$200,000 in cash and luxury watches. It is understood that one of the red Richard Mille watches is worth NT$2 million and belongs to the 29-year-old mastermind of the fraud group with a background in the Xinyi case; the other seized gold Rolex watch is worth approximately NT$300,000.
Yao Yongqin described the fraud group as highly confidential and with tight security around the unit. It also required victims to conduct transactions in highly private cryptocurrencies without involving any bank accounts, making it more difficult for the police to trace the proceeds of crime. However, after this arrest operation, the police believe that they have successfully dismantled this large-scale and highly organized fraud group.
He also pointed out that the fraud group mainly uses online romance methods to trick victims into investing in cryptocurrency and thereby obtain money. Therefore, the group will hire technology professionals, including graduates from local universities majoring in digital media, to provide technical support, and also collaborate with overseas fraudsters. Molecules build a fake cryptocurrency platform. Among the 27 arrested persons, 6 are graduates of well-known local universities, and 10 have Form 6 education. After the arrested persons are hired by the fraud group, they will be informed that the real business of the "company" is fraud, but the arrested persons can Knowing that after successfully committing the fraud, he would receive 40% of the commission, he was deceived by the money and became willing to become a member of the fraud group.
Investigation revealed that in addition to Hong Kong residents, the victims in the case also came from India, Singapore and Malaysia. According to the information and records currently obtained by the police, it is believed that "quite a few people" have been arrested, with total losses amounting to HK$360 million.
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