Hong Kong police arrested 127 people after searching eight premises in western Kowloon on October 8 and 9, in an operation targeting a Vietnamese-led crime group they said was rooted in Sham Shui Po. The Organized Crime and Triad Bureau led the operation with the Immigration Department. Police said the group used a Vietnamese association and grocery shops as fronts for high-interest lending and other illicit activities.
Police said they first noticed the group early in 2026 and spent about six months gathering intelligence, including through undercover work. Members allegedly flaunted their wealth on social media to attract borrowers. Police described loans charging about HK$100 a day for every HK$10,000 borrowed; compounded, that amounted to an effective annual interest rate that could reach 3,700%, compared with a statutory limit of 48%.
When borrowers struggled with the interest, police said, they were encouraged to join a rotating savings scheme to pay off existing debts. Each pool had 20 members, who paid HK$5,000 every 10 days into a HK$100,000 fund. The group leader chose who received each round and deducted hidden fees, making the distribution opaque and reducing payouts.
Police alleged that borrowers who could not keep up with payments faced threats, assaults or unlawful detention. Some were also pressured to help transport or sell drugs to settle their debts. The group’s other alleged activities included illegal gambling and unlicensed bars, as well as short-term accommodation for people who had entered Hong Kong illegally and the provision of counterfeit identity documents.
Police reported seizing more than HK$2 million in suspected crime proceeds and said they were continuing to investigate the people arrested and the group’s finances, with further arrests not ruled out.